Monday, June 4, 2007

Free Downloading Of Games & Music

by Rachel King
Are they really free? What are the risks? Don’t waste your time and get frustrated with having to l analyse each website to find the one that offers you the most downloads and latest movies and music for Free. I have done the hard work for you. If you look hard enough there will always be someone offering a product or service on the internet free - BUT - have you considered the risks associated with these sites?

Are they really free? What are the risks?

Latest games and software. Full game downloads, buy newest games, read latest reviews, free downloadable versions.


High quality and safe FREE game downloads

Statements like this ring a bell? I'm sure that if you're looking for free downloading software then you have already done a search on Google or Yahoo! and wondering which site is the best?

If you walk away from reading this article with only one tip - don't waste your time and get frustrated with having to l analyse each website to find the one that offers you the most downloads and latest movies and music for Free.

I have done the hard work for you.

If you look hard enough there will always be someone offering a product or service on the internet free - BUT - have you considered the risks associated with these sites?

Are they really Free?

Not all downloading sites are free. In fact most of them aren't. At first glance, they may appear free, but when you take a further look the only aspect that really is "free" is the sign-up process. What you'll find is that as soon as you log-in your member area each download costs you. So in fact the membership is free, but not the products.

What is the risk?

There are many dangers posed by viruses and spyware when you download a file from a "Free" membership based program.

A lot of the game downloaded files are infected with spyware and viruses and deliberately placed on websites by scammers and hackers in an attempt to install keyloggers or even us it for spamming purposes.

Danger of Spyware

Spyware in essence is software that logs information about a user's online habits and reports back to the software's creators. The effects of these programs range from unwanted pop-up ads and browser hijacking to more dangerous security breaches, which include the theft of personal information, keystroke logging, changing dialup ISP numbers to expensive toll numbers, and installing backdoors on a system that leave it open for hackers.

So what are my Options if I want to Download Games and Music at a Low Cost?

Your best option is to spend a small amount of money upfront and use a reputable membership downloading site. This will provide you with to advantages;

1. It will protect your computer and personal information

2. Will save you a lot of money in the long run

Yes you pay to become a member - but for a once of fee of around $20 - $40 you will get access to unlimited downloads for life. The cost of say 1 full price game in a shop, without having to pay for each download and worry about security and virus issues.

These sites are free of adware and spyware, are legal and they even provide technical support if you have problems.

World of Warcraft Player Versus Player

by Chan Peng Joon
Player versus Player (PvP) is the term used for fighting against other player controlled characters. PvPing is split up into the following: Arenas, Honour (Battlegrounds and world killing), zone objectives and dueling. There are great rewards like armour and weapons connected to the three first mentioned.

Player versus Player (PvP) is the term used for fighting against other player controlled characters. PvPing is split up into the following: Arenas, Honor (Battlegrounds and world killing), zone objectives and dueling. There are great rewards like armor and weapons connected to the three first mentioned.

Arenas

If you want to play arenas, the first thing you’ll have to do is to create an arena team. You are able to fight in arenas with 2, 3 and 5-manned teams. Each team starts with an arena rating of 1500. You will then gain or lose rating, depending on whether you win or loose the arena match you play. The amount of rating you gain or lose depends on the opposing team’s rating. If you fight against a team with a much higher team rating than yours, you will gain a lot of points if you win and if you lose the rating loss will be small. Once a week you will receive arena points based on your team rating. You use these arena points as currency to buy equipment.

Honor

You get honor for killing the opposite faction, no matter where you are, except Arenas. There are certain places where you get extra honor for completing an objective. These places are called battlegrounds. When the objective is complete, the battleground is over, and the teams will receive bonus honor. There are a total of four battlegrounds:

• Warsong Gulch: This battleground has a capture the flag style of game play, where the objective is to capture the enemy flag and bring it back to your base three times. You get bonus honor for each capture and if you’re the first team to reach three captures.

• Arathi Basin: This battleground has a ‘capture and defend’ style of game play, where the objective is to capture the as many of the five bases and defend them. Your team gets objective points every second increasing with the number of bases you have. You get bonus honor for the number of objective points you are able to get in a round well as winning. You win by getting 2000 objective points.

• Alterac Valley: In this battleground your goal is to push your way to the other faction’s base, and kill the enemy General. On the way, you’ll have to deal with bunkers, towers and several groups of guards and enemy “mini bosses”. You get bonus honor for destroying bunkers and towers, killing enemy “mini bosses” and for winning (killing the enemy general).

• Eye of the Storm: This battleground is a mix of Warsong Gulch and Arathi Basin. The main objective is to hold as many towers as you can, much like Arathi Basin and then score points by bringing the flag in the centre of the map to one of the towers your team is in control over. You get objective points for holding towers as well as capturing the flag. You win by getting 2000 objective points.

You use the honor points as currency to buy good rewards.

Guitar Hero III Songs Released

by Jason Martin
Fans of Guitar Hero should be impressed. It looks like Guitar Hero III will be the best one yet. The song list has started to be leaked and it's very good so far. We now know of 13 songs for the upcoming release.

Fans of Guitar Hero should be impressed. It looks like Guitar Hero III will be the best one yet. The song list has started to be leaked and it's very good so far. We now know of 13 songs for the upcoming release.

New Guitar Hero Song List

1. Paint it Black by The Rolling Stones
2. Cherub Rock by Smashing Pumpkins
3. Sabotage by Beastie Boys
4. The Metal by Tenacious D
5. My Name is Jonas by Weezer
6. Knights of Cydonia by Muse
7. Rock and Roll All Nite by Kiss
8. School's Out by alice Cooper
9. Slow Ride by Fog Hat
10. Cult of Personality by Living Colour
11. Barracuda by Heart
12. Evenflow by Pearl Jam
13. Lay Down by Priestess

This list is pretty good for starters. I'm hoping that they are not releasing their best songs now and then all the rest is filler material.

A couple songs that would make Guitar Hero III much better—ala my personal wish list.

1. Master of Puppets by Metallica
2. Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin
3. Paradise City by Guns N Roses
4. Beth by Kiss

There are some others, but that would make me happy.

Guitar Hero 80s is coming out in July. It will be for the PS2 only—sorry Xbox 360 owners. It will have 30 new songs. All of the songs are yet to be known but a couple that will be fun are:

1. Metal Health by Quiet Riot
2. Nothin' But a Good Time by Poison
3. Round and Round by Ratt
4. 18 and Life by Skid Row
5. We Got the Beat by The Go-Go's

Guitar Hero III is slated for release later this year. As of this writing, the game's developers were in active talks to get songs from Metallica, AC/DC and Led Zeppelin. Could Stairway to Heaven of Master of Puppets be on the horizon? Let's hope.

Five Most Significant Features in Microsoft Vista

by Marko Hammond
As expected, most new users are interested to know what is new with Vista and what makes it better to use than previous editions. Will it be easier to use? Will there be better safety and security features?

So many people are getting all worked up and excited over the new Windows Vista. As expected, most new users are interested to know what is new with Vista and what makes it better to use than previous editions. Will it be easier to use? Will there be better safety and security features? Will technical and management aspects be given fair attention? It may not be possible to completely detail all of Vista’s new or improved features. Among its many notable features are the following:

Windows Shell

The appearance of the operating system is the first marketing strategy to use on non-technical individuals. Many home users understandably get attracted with basic aesthetic features and easy to use functions. In operating systems, the appearance and ease of use can best be associated with the shell which presents the user interface. With Windows, their shell is Explorer. In Windows Vista, the shell is associated with Aero.

The translucent glass look of Aero alone is an image of elegance and lends an added illusion of depth. Users also have the choice to use the appearance of previous Windows versions. Aside from a change in look, Vista also addresses aspects in organization, filtering and storing. The “Stacks” function for example will allow users to filter files or group files according to user criteria.

Multimedia Applications

Movie, photo and music enthusiasts and experts will be happy to know that Vista has added features for them too. The Windows Movie Maker for example will allow editing of DVR-MS videos. The new Windows DVD Maker on the other hand will allow DVD creation and burning. For photo enthusiasts, the Windows Photo Gallery will still allow basic editing plus metadata additions to photos. Windows Paint also now has unlimited undo functions.

Windows Defender

On the aspect of security, Vista now includes Windows Defender which can be used against spyware. Aside from the usual function of scanning for spyware, Windows Defender can also perform real time monitoring for changes in Windows that have been caused by spyware. With Windows Defender, users can now easily keep in touch with Microsoft to inquire about suitable applications and spyware.

Wireless Networking

Wireless networking is not a very new concept. There are however, some improvements in Vista. With Vista, wireless connections do not mimic wired connections. The network stack now holds the support for wireless networks. New features can then be implemented. These include easily finding and identifying open and closed networks.

Speech Recognition

With this feature, users can use voice commands on their computer unit. The difference between Vista voice recognition and other versions is that voice recognition in Vista boasts full integration. Certain applications therefore can be manipulated by dictation. A mousegrid may be used for applications that require mouse functions. A user simply needs to dictate a series of numbers to zero in on the particular area that has to be clicked. This feature is easy to use even without the tutorial provided. Voice recognition is fairly high and exact.

How to Install and Run Microsoft Vista

by Marko Hammond

There are several things that you may need to look into before actually buying a Windows Vista version and installing it. These concerns are, of course, related to the Vista version you decide to get and the kind of installation procedure you decide to take.

All of a sudden, nearly everyone wants to install and run Microsoft Vista. Installing alone however, may not be such an easy task. There are several things that you may need to look into before actually buying a Windows Vista version and installing it. These concerns are, of course, related to the Vista version you decide to get and the kind of installation procedure you decide to take.

Your first step should be to check if our hardware fits the requirements for the Vista system. You can only look into your installation options once you are certain that you have met the hardware requirements for whatever Vista version you have.

Upgrade Installation

Upgrading from a previous Windows edition has both been a popular and a controversial issue. Some may advice an upgrade while others think it’s a bad idea. Those against it believe that an upgrade version provides less quality. The choice is ultimately yours. Before you upgrade, take a look at your operating system edition. The following non-clean installation upgrades will apply except for 64-bit versions:

· A Windows XP Home Edition can be upgraded to Vista Home Basic, Home Premium, Business and Ultimate versions.

· Thirty-two bit Windows XP Professional can be upgraded to Vista Business and Ultimate versions.

· Windows XP Tablet PC Edition can be upgraded to Vista Business and Ultimate.

· Windows XP Media Center 2005 Edition can be upgraded to Windows Home Premium and Ultimate versions.

To upgrade, run Windows XP and simply put in your installation disc. With an upgrade you can still generally have your programs, files and settings after installation.

Clean Installation

If you do not qualify for an upgrade then you have to go for clean installation. This means, of course, that you need to create a back up copy of all your files first since you will loose all files and personal settings after installation.

Install by first inserting your Vista disc and then booting your computer. Make sure that the interactive setup is in running mode and then format your hard drive.

Dual-boot Installation

You may want to test Vista first if it will work for you or you may simply just want to keep your XP system around. In this case, you may go for a dual-boot installation. For dual booting, you need at least two partitions, one for XP and the other for Vista. Both partitions can only accommodate one system. If you only have one partition, you need a partitioning tool to help you out.

A dual boot installation will let you choose between your two operating systems every time you open your computer.

Virtual Computer Installation

Requisition Management in Microsoft Dynamics GP Business Portal FAQ - Tips for Consultant

by Andrew Karasev

Microsoft Great Plains Business Portal is web application, utilizing. Net technologies. At the same time it had to work with so-called ERP back office, in the case of Great Plains this is Microsoft Dynamics GP server with rich business logic.

Microsoft Great Plains Business Portal is web application, utilizing .Net technologies. At the same time it had to work with so-called ERP back office, in the case of Great Plains this is Microsoft Dynamics GP server with rich business logic. Having said these, we would recommend you to think about MS Great Plains Business Portal as typical peripheral set of modules, however placed in the web pages and hosted in MS Sharepoint environment. This a bit complex mixture of mentioned technologies makes business portal installation and setup complicated in turn, however if you’ve done your homework, the deployment should be smooth enough and you will see that BP does its job. In this small article we would like to review some evident questions and answers in Microsoft Business Portal Requisition Management, which is replacement to former Microsoft Great Plains eRequisition (last version of eRequisition was 7.5, current version of GP is 9.0, we expect 10.0 be released pretty soon – Summer 2007)

• Approval Hierarchy. Unfortunately in User and Admin guides for Requisition Management module, approval hierarchy doesn’t mention and provide the screen shot, where you understand that requisition creators maybe placed on the same level under requisition approver (meaning that approval hierarchy is not binary tree or binary list). This is one of the most typical questions from IT people, who install MS Dynamics GP Business Portal 3.0. Also, do not forget to select approval hierarchy in Requisition Management modules setup

• Required Fields: price, vendor, item id – these fields are mot required for requisition creator, and this “powerful” flexibility allows requisition initiator to create requisition with very generic description, imagine something like this: “I need really powerful new computer with large LCD monitor”. Requisition creator submits such a fancy purchase request and then professional requisition processing job should be done by purchasing clerk: send requisition to multiple vendors to get quotations, then select a vendor (possibly by initial requisition line, allowing multiple vendors deliver goods on one requisition). In other words, this means that you can select the vendor, item id, item price at the later time.

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

Free Registry Cleaner For Vista – How Important Is Clean Registry For Windows Vista

by Ashwin Sachdeva

For Vista, Window registry cleaner is a type of software that unquestionably safeguards your computer from the unwanted Adware and Spyware. Moreover, now you may download free Registry cleaner for your Microsoft Windows Vista.

Windows vista is the most modern version of the operating system. When you upgraded your PC for windows vista and stored in your operating system, you must be having a wonderful experience of computer with a fresh, modern and superior feature of your program. For Vista, Registry cleaners are important for the proper functioning. You must have ever considered the details that your old registry cleaner program is no longer well matched or well suited with your windows vista.

As, we all know that whenever we wish to install or uninstall any kind of program, we have to make changes in our hardware and modify the system setting. Similarly, in Window vista registry updated the records of our modification. Free registry cleaners not only provide us the registry entries in a most convenient way to keep us updated. However, it also helps our computer in proper and effective functioning.

According to some myths, some people believed that free registry cleaners does not take good care of windows vista or doesn’t have ability to make it run faster. However, it is not true! For windows vista, free registry cleaners program saves the data and makes the file structured and well maintained.

Vista registry cleaner is an ultimate solution to keep your registry to keep away from such treats. Window vista registry cleaner cleans all the unwanted and outdated entries and files from your system. In short free registry cleaner can also helps you to keep updated, clean and trim.

With the help of windows vista free registry cleaner program you can even do scheduling of your checks and restoring of your registry. This will not only be the finest way for computing but it also protects your PC from the hacking and mal practices. Free registry clean is the need of the today, as we are so much habitual of working on computer and if someday your system crashes, down what you will do. So better, you take caution and download vista registry cleaner free. Windows registry cleaners also store the important information of your hardware system as well as your software.

Just keep in mind, your computer registry will capture by large number of registry entries, if you don’t have any windows vista registry cleaner to keep your computer up-to-date, then you are at higher risk. To protect yourself and your important data lies in your computer download any free registry cleaner today, this especially developed for Windows Vista only.

Improper Install And Uninstall – How Does Windows Registry Cleaner Helps?

by Ashwin Sachdeva

The main concern is to inform you about the effects of Improper Install or uninstall process and provide you the complete details of the window registry cleaner to make you aware that can play a vital role for your computer.

Do you need Windows Registry Cleaner? Why…? Here is the answer. The window registry is getting bigger day by day, as you are installing new software or programs every second day. It is a kind of database, in which all information is stored on computes configurations. It collects all the disturbing and irrelevant information, which slows down the functioning of your computer system.

Nowadays, registry is rising so often, which makes the whole system corrupted and will make you face countless problems regarding you pc. If you want to make your computer system pest free and run smoothly, you must clean your computer as early as possible. Windows Registry cleaner is ready made software, which is convenient to remove or delete all the unwanted information and registry errors from your windows, which is only registered in your system.

There are varieties of registry cleaners you can download from the Internet. Moreover, you can download it free. Free Registry cleaners program detects and scan all the superfluous information and remove it permanently from your computer. Once the process finished by windows registry cleaner, your system will become free from the problems, which can corrupt your computer and slows down it’s functioning.

When the user install the window registry cleaner software than he user can back up all the important information to hoard it to the registry in case when you experience any kind of any crash in your system. This characteristic will also allow you to hold the easily start up.

Don’t forget that Window registry plays the very vital role in the functioning of your computer. It can cause various problems say crash of windows, error in receiving or sending messages, downloading software etc and due to which you and your pc have to suffer a lot, as lot of time is taken in detecting and reading the data. Window registry cleaner will inspect the entire window, detect all the errors, and make the functioning of your pc fast.

Free registry cleaner program also deletes all the unwanted files, which are mange by you while browsing Internet. In fact, this windows registry cleaner is removing all the invalid entries. The registry cleaners program also gives you the facility to change or delete those programs, which you don’t want on your computer screen. A superior performance process is used to identify all the errors in the window registry, even you can clean the items individually selected by you. So hurry up and download the free registry cleaners.

Password Management

by Benjamin Corll

With the need for security in an online world and a username and password required to keep one's own settings it's important to keep all the username - password combinations safe. And the best way to do that is not by writing them down or by using the same username - password combination. It is by putting them into a password safe (tool) that will remember it all for you!

With all of the systems that require passwords and all the sites that require accounts to access it is impossible to remember all of the username and password combinations without either using the same credentials or writing them all down. There are huge security concerns with doing either of those two options.

For the one who uses the same credentials for everything from their webmail accounts to their personal banking accounts they leave themselves open for someone to have complete access to their lives. All it takes is for a person to obtain one of the accounts and they will have access to any of the accounts. Gaining access to the initial information can be from cookies stored on the machine (that are available via web browser vulnerabilities) to sites failing to use https: or SSL (secure socket layer) technology. This sends your username and password credentials in the clear across the Internet and has the possibility of being picked up by any number of machines.

With writing down the username and password combinations on a piece of paper there is always the possibility of either losing the piece of paper or of someone actually finding it and having immediate access to the accounts. The threat of this is great when the pieces of paper are left under the keyboard, taped to the monitor, taped on the laptop, or simply left on the desk. The password is used to add security to the computer and the applications, by writing down that information the person is simply throwing out the security. And yes, there is still the possibility of the packets with credentials being picked up on the Internet if they are sent in clear text, but usually when one is writing down their username and passwords they do have separate passwords for different accounts. So they will not lose complete control over all of their accounts if the piece of paper for one account is discovered.

One of the best things that one can do when setting up accounts is to use a different username AND a different password for each account during the initial setup. This can be tedious and difficult to remember (thus, the two tendencies referenced above). But there is a better way for a person to keep track of their passwords, which is to use a password management tool. This will help them to keep track of the different usernames and passwords associated with each account. Another benefit of using a password management tool is that a person can set a more secure password and not have to worry about forgetting it.

When it comes to setting a password there are differing levels of complexity. Since password cracking tools can guess or crack a simple password in a matter of seconds it is important that users set passwords that have some complexity to them. The choices a user can use when setting passwords they can use: alphanumeric characters (a-z; A-Z; 0-9) as well as special characters (!@#$, etc). By setting a password with upper case, lower case letters as well a numeric characters and special characters a user is setting a password that will not easily be guessed by a password cracking program much less another person. The problem is that they are not as easy to remember. This is why it is important to use a password management tool.

There are many password management tools that are on the Internet, some that are free and some that cost money. The debate as to which are better is strictly up to the individual. However, it is imperative with the age of technology that we are all in with online banking and online bill payments that we all set up our online accounts with user accounts having strong passwords. And in order to help us all remember what we set those accounts to (since we don’t always use them every day but some only once a month or a couple of times a year) it is important to have a central yet secure place where we can store all of the username/password combinations. It is even better if we can store the website information that is used to access the account and secure that with the other information.

Tuesday, May 8, 2007

Apple Computer and Microsoft

by L. Winslow

Many detractors of Microsoft cling to Apple like it is some sort of religion. That is fine and as a Technology Buff who runs a think tank, well, I have no problem with Apple Computers at all. I enjoy the technology "next new thing" type exploits there. I think Apple and their Marketing Hype Roll-outs help all personal tech innovative start-up companies in the way they make it glamorous and exciting they do all technology a favor in this way.

Many detractors of Microsoft cling to Apple like it is some sort of religion. That is fine and as a Technology Buff who runs a think tank, well, I have no problem with Apple Computers at all. I enjoy the technology "next new thing" type exploits there. I think Apple and their Marketing Hype Roll-outs help all personal tech innovative start-up companies in the way they make it glamorous and exciting they do all technology a favor in this way.

Apple has done a good job marketing their products and I have watched their marketing strategies. In particular, I enjoyed their education strategies, giving away free computers to schools to hook a new generation on their products - smart thinking indeed.

Still many software programmers have a sever disdain for Microsoft and a lot of pent up hostility too. But I ask them - How can you have hostility against an inanimate object like a created person or corporation? A corporation's job is to grow, make money. They are doing that, and delivering to the world standardization. Just like VHS, Microsoft won, Beta might have been better, but it matters not.

Generally they claim that Microsoft hurts all the other little start-up software companies. But really this is not true either. Many start-ups claim in Business Plans that they show to Venture Capitalists that their exit strategy is to sell to a Microsoft or Google, so those comments are invalid too.

All the other software companies could have organized a co-op and kind of did with open source initiates, but, Microsoft had their own operating system running on 80% of the computers, then 90% and then so on. See, they are winning thru strategic moves and playing to win. We should applaud winners, not make up some BS and attack them.

If it is Microsoft's operating system, they should be allowed to only allow Microsoft products and nothing else. So in reality software programmers should sign up for the Microsoft Partners program and stop complaining. In fact I do not see Sony PS2 allowing Microsoft games? Does the new iPhone allow a Microsoft CE program to run on it? Hmm? Think about this.

Will Green Peace Go After Microsoft Like they Attacked Apple Computers?

by L. Winslow

If Microsoft moves towards web based software applications, then so too will Google and others. Yet in doing so this might get many people to ditch their computers for newer versions. This worries some environmentalists and perhaps you might recall the environmental groups attacked Apple Computers in the media recently calling them evil.

If Microsoft moves towards web based software applications, then so too will Google and others. Yet in doing so this might get many people to ditch their computers for newer versions. This worries some environmentalists and perhaps you might recall the environmental groups attacked Apple Computers in the media recently calling them evil.

If computers become inexpensive will they become disposable, some say yes? If so will they fill up the junk yards? I guess now that Apple settled with the angry ELF, Sierra Club, Green Peace environmental hypocrites (that was opinion - duly noted), that might be a play against Google and Microsoft. Although remember that Microsoft is partnered with companies like Dell and HP and remember both those companies are hot on the environmental trail too.

Besides, Microsoft does not make computers, they make software and think of all the CD ROM Jewel Cases that will not be thrown out, or all the Computer Manuals also online? Think of all the Trees that are no longer cut down due to Gate's concept of the Digital Nervous system?

Now if the Government would follow his lead, think how many trees will be saved then? Microsoft has very smart people, such an attack by environmentalists would bounce off and give them a reason to come out smelling like a rose on the Vista looking out the Window to the world. As for Google, it would be hard to accuse them of being anti-environmental.

Will used computers, Screens, keyboards, USB ports, mouses and touch pads be littered across the beaches of the world? My gosh that was some harsh imagery. Well, please, kids can use all these parts to make robots. And recycling can be the same as mining. Right now you cannot walk on many beaches due to beer bottles, paper products, plastic garbage or flying toilets in some places already. Think about it.

Stolen Laptops & Online Police Database

by Jimtim Smith
Imagine this: On a dreary Monday morning you board the train into work with your laptop for the start of yet another long work week.

Imagine this: On a dreary Monday morning you board the train into work with your laptop for the start of yet another long work week. As the train pulls into your station you sleepily stand up and dash out the door for the platform along with dozens of other commuters. But wait! You’re missing something. You forgot your laptop on the train! You rush back inside the train before the doors close and look frantically under your seat. But your briefcase with your laptop is nowhere to be found!

This situation is more prevalent than you may think. In 2003 there were more than 600,000 laptops stolen (Safeware Insurance, 2003 report). That’s more than 1,640 laptops stolen every single day.And to compound the problem, even if the police were to find the thief and recover your laptop, they have almost no idea who owns it or how to get it back to you! Why? Because you never wrote down the serial numbers and the paperwork accompanying it is long gone. You filed a police report, but with no serial number to report, your laptop could be stored away in some police evidence room with thousands of others just like it across the state or across the country, never to be returned to you again.

That’s where JustStolen.net comes in. Our website was established by Police Officers to assist consumers, college students and business owners retrieve lost or stolen valuables. The website is a powerful database that members can use to register their personal property. Any descriptive information can be entered into the database including make, model, color, serial number and any thing else you can think of. You can even upload photographs of your items.

But along with the other great advantages of being a member, there are two fantastic features about JustStolen.net:
• Once your items are registered, if they are ever stolen or lost you have all the information you need to give to police. Your descriptive information about the item has been stored in our secure database.
• But here is the best part: When your item is recovered by police across the state or across the globe, they only have to log onto one simple-to-use website to search for its owner. They just enter the serial number or description of your laptop, iPod, DVD player or other valuable, and the item’s description and the email address that you entered when you first registered is there for them to contact you!

Your valuable item won’t be sitting in some far away evidence room, because the police now know who the owner is, and they have an easy way to get in touch with you. It’s as simple as that! Your property is returned and there’s no need to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars to replace it.

And best of all, JustStolen.net is FREE to use; free for consumers, college students and business owners, and free for all law enforcement personnel. There is never any charge to use our service.

What are some of the other benefits of how JustStolen.net gets your valuables back to you?
• There’s no need to spend your hard earned money to replace lost or stolen valuables
• There’s no need to fill out time-consuming insurance claim forms
• No insurance claim means lower premiums
• Your irreplaceable items (data in your laptop, photographs in your digital camera) have a better chance of being returned to you
• You, the victim of a crime, can now assist the police in a successful prosecution of the thief
• Police won’t waste precious time trying to find the owner of recovered merchandise, freeing up time for crime fighting
• Your member information can be accessed by you from any internet-accessible computer across the globe
• Police only have to search one powerful database for owner information when they recover lost or stolen goods
• No contracts to sign
• No minimum commitment
Sign up today!

Imagine this: On a dreary Monday morning you board the train into work with your laptop for the start of yet another long work week. As the train pulls into your station you sleepily stand up and dash out the door for the platform along with dozens of other commuters. But wait! You’re missing something. You forgot your laptop on the train! You rush back inside the train before the doors close and look frantically under your seat. But your briefcase with your laptop is nowhere to be found!

Skull Ports for Your Artificially Intelligent Add-on Memory and Networked Computer

by L. Winslow

In the future all the smart people will have add on computer components to assist them in their thought processes. The smart people will be hooked into their computers and they will have "Skull Ports" with Artificially Intelligent computers to do complicated thinking and extremely complex thought.

In the future all the smart people will have add on computer components to assist them in their thought processes. The smart people will be hooked into their computers and they will have "Skull Ports" with Artificially Intelligent computers to do complicated thinking and extremely complex thought.

"Hooked In?"

What I mean here in discussing "Skull Ports" is that smart people will choose to hook into a portable tiny AI computer system hooked to their human brain that they will be able to communicate with thru thought. You might ask the computer a question and it runs thru scenarios of 20 chess moves and then gives the most plausible answer to the human based on its programming, then the human can ask a question or two more.

This would be similar to the onboard computer on the Enterprise on Star Track but connected. By being hooked into the system wirelessly the human can be remotely connected everywhere. How can this be made possible? Well by using customized fMRI neural network firing 3D Mind Mapping of each individual (taking into consideration their thought process and brain formatting) with a standardized system between during the sending phase.

Humans would then be able to send thoughts, concepts and ideas to AI supercomputers and each other for instant communication and commands. Also in a flight combat situation in the net-centric battle space, where things happen too fast for key-board entries and need Real Time war at the speed of thought? Transfer technologies will be used in all sectors later on. And this is how it will all come to be.

Think about it - better reasoning for humans, hmm? Yes, brilliant. Do you see my point now and why this is so desperately needed to help increase human's limited thinking abilities? Perhaps we should consider this immediately, to reduce the problems occurring with the dummying down trends.

Wednesday, May 2, 2007

Anti Spyware - 7 Signs When You Might Be Infected

Spyware is becoming a real, but often underestimated, internet threat. Keep the following 7 signs in mind, as they might very well point to the existence of some nasty spyware on your computer.



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Who Can We Thank for the Rapid Advances in Human Technology?

by L. Winslow
Have you ever wondered who is responsible for the advances in technology? Well on the Private Sector side of things I think a round recognition must go to Futurist Ray Kurzweil for his work, studies and weekly email Newsletter. He is continually promoting the future technologies and the singularity of technology as he calls it. Where technology starts moving so fast that people only remember what was before and what is now - a paradigm shift if you will.

Microsoft Research and other major companies have graciously shared much of their technology, white papers and AI research with the world and this is to be commended and is extremely helpful. One of the greatest joys of my research into technology has been following the ever increasing progression of Artificial Intelligence. Not a week goes by without another breakthrough.

For six years, I have been watching the news alerts, reading scientific journals, trade journals and news articles, the future is coming a lot faster than most people think and there is a wealth of information out there. Indeed it has been at times a little overwhelming, but well worth it. I think everyone who is on the bleeding edge of this science understands that the future is now. But we also need to thank the unsung heroes and the citizen who continually challenges their mind.

For instance my friend Youji Fujoshi who is a huge science enthusiast who exudes information and has spent countless long hours of discussion on Artificial Intelligence and Robotic Androids from ALL the known and available (and some no-longer available) Science Fiction works of authors Arthur C. Clarke, Ben Bova and Isaac Asimov, as well as many other popular science fiction writers.

We need to thank the individuals in our society - the dreamers, Sci Fi writers, scientists, corporations and futurists for propelling the human race forward incrementally to bring us in this place we stand today ready to take the species to the next step.

Protect Your Family and Home with High-Quality Stun Guns

by Chris Robertson
Learn how stun guns can give added security to your home and protect your family from dangerous criminals....

With crime on the rise - especially those of burglary, drug-related robberies, and kidnapping - it's wise to prepare in advance how you will protect your home and family. In the event of an attack or break-in, there are many ways to protect your family, but preparation is a must. Your family members, even those who are young, should have a plan.

Weaponry to Protect, Not to Kill

Though many families have guns hidden away for protection, guns are dangerous. Accidents can occur within the family or in the event of trying to defend the family; the burglar could take the gun from you and murder everyone in the family. Also, there's often an emotional breakdown if someone is killed, even in self-defense. It's a good idea to have weaponry that de-mobilizes the burglar, but doesn't kill them. Some forms of weaponry that many are using include stun guns and pepper spray.

How Stun Guns Work

Stun guns disrupt the attacker's body by generating a high-voltage electrical charge with low amperage. The stun gun's charge applies much pressure but little intensity. The charge can pass through thick clothing and skin. Its charge is not intense enough to do damage to the attacker's body unless it is applied for extended periods of time.

A stun gun can, however, confuse the attacker by sending mixed signals to his brain. He can become temporarily or partially paralyzed, confused and unbalanced. This can give you or a family member enough time to get away and contact the police.

It's important not attempt any heroic acts; only use the stun gun as protection for your life or the lives of your family members. Then, get away as quickly as possible.

Stun Gun Voltage

Stun guns can be chosen according to voltage. They might contain from 20,000 volts all the way up to about 1,000,000 volts! They usually operate on 9-volt batteries. The batteries supply the stun gun with electricity to an electrical circuit. Components within the circuit give the voltage a boost while reducing the amperage. The stun gun has electrodes, which are usually small metal pieces with a gap in between. The gap is where a conductor must be placed. The conductor, of course, may be the arm, shoulder or hand of your attacker! There are also liquid stun guns and taser guns.

The Citizen's Protector

For ordinary home protection, citizens often choose medium-voltage stun guns that are easy to operate and store. There are stun guns that are disguised as umbrellas, flashlights, or other objects to create the element of surprise. Military personnel, security officers, and police officials often use more complex stun guns.

Stun Guns: Where to Buy Them

You can buy stun guns at home security outlets or stores in your hometown or in a nearby larger city. Or if you're pressed for time, there are places on the Internet that offer these products at great prices. You can shop for all sorts of security products online such as Talon stun guns, pepper sprays, alarms, and so forth. You can also save money by buying discount stun guns or even wholesale stun guns from an online store.

Before making a purchase, check out the company to be sure it is a reputable business. Also, check with your state and city laws to be sure the type of stun gun you are buying is legal in your area.

Anti Spyware - 7 Signs When You Might Be Infected

by Lisa Wimes
Spyware is becoming a real, but often underestimated, internet threat. Keep the following 7 signs in mind, as they might very well point to the existence of some nasty spyware on your computer.

Even though most spyware installs itself silently, unlike viruses their presence usually becomes pretty obvious soon enough. Often installed by abusing security weaknesses in software programs or by being attached to other trusted installations, spyware is becoming a real, but often underestimated, internet threat. Keep the following 7 signs in mind, as they might very well point to the existence of some nasty spyware on your computer:



#1 An (endless) number of pop-up windows keep on appearing. A lot of spyware will start opening all kinds of ads on your desktop or in your browser, so be alarmed when you notice an excessive number of ads. Some spyware also displays ‘non-family-friendly’ material to put it simple. Watch out for spyware, especially when your kids are also using your computer and run your anti spyware software on a regular basis.


#2 New and unknown toolbars are added to your desktop or web browser. Thumb rule: never install any of those fancy toolbars. They might look cool, handy and provide a few features, but 95% of all those toolbars contain spyware to a certain degree. Giving stuff away for free is a powerful strategy of spyware distributors, so watch out for toolbars and other free stuff. Most toolbars can automatically be removed with a quick spyware scan.


#3 Your browser’s homepage has changed. Or keeps on changing. A lot of spyware will try to change your homepage for obvious advertising purposes. Not sure who changed your homepage? Then run a scan as soon as possible, as there’s a high chance some spyware is messing with your computer, and doesn’t limit itself to only changing your homepage.


#4 The standard search engine within your web browser has changed. More or less the same as sign 3: some spyware may change your default search engine.


#5 Your computer (suddenly) has become very slow. A lot of spyware poses a real resource hog, ultimately slowing your computer down, which becomes especially noticeable when multiple spyware is installed. Please note that there are a ton of other possible explanations which might cause a slow computer. You might want to run an anti spyware software scan nonetheless. Especially when you notice any of the other 8 signs as well.


#6 Random errors start to appear. Some spyware might even cause problems with your Windows or with other spyware programs, leaving you with a bunch of weird errors and sometimes even complete system crashes. If a full spyware scan doesn’t fix the problems, you should consider using the Windows XP System Restore function. (Contact your computer store for more info and help.)


#7 New unknown icons start to appear without any reason. Most spyware installs itself completely silently, but some are kind enough to add some links here and there so you can manually launch them. Obviously you shouldn’t click any of these links when they don’t seem to be legitimate, but run an anti spyware scan first instead.

Saturday, April 28, 2007

Concerned About Your PC Security? Switch to Linux

by Guillermo Garron
If you are concerned about security, at your home or office PC you may choose Linux as your operating system, after that you will be secure.

These days, security is a new concern we have in cyber space, we have worms, pishing, virus, scam email, we have lots of people out there, trying to get our info, such us, credit card numbers, passwords, etc.

We need to be protected about all that new types of criminals, who can make you a lot of economic damage, one of the ways they use to get your info, is turning your PC into a zombie. And what is that? Ok, suppose you got an email (that could even come from people you know) saying that attached you will find the last video of Paris Hilton, so you open it, but it is not a video is a software that install some software in you PC.

Ok, this software is going to run each time you turn your computer on, and it can make lots of things.


It will get your email addresses and copy itself to people you know with the same message you got when it arrives to you.
Enable a keylogger so it can start getting all you type on the keyboard
Send all that info to the guy who wrote the software
So, this way this trojano infects your friends and relatives PCs, and also send your private info to people you do not want to have that info, which can include credit card numbers and passwords.

What can you do to avoid part of this risk, if your company lets you, and off course at home, you can switch to Linux, this operating system is almost impossible to infect with trojanos or virus, specially for two reasons:


More people uses windows, so there are more chances to find info secret info, if the trojano is written for windows
The security at Linux is stronger, it is really difficult to execute a software, if it does not get the permission first.
Now if you decide to switch to linux first you will need to choose which Linux you are going to use, for that you can read this article (which Linux distribution to choose?), which according your needs will help you choose a Linux distribution.

Registry Cleaner? Discover How A Total Newbie Got To The Bottom Of this Little Nest of 'Nasties'

by Terry Pattinson
Is necessary to clean the registry on your computer and if it is, then how do you choose from the 100's out there? Well, let me tell you how I did all this and rejuvenated my computer so it performed like new!

The greater proportion of computer crashes will be caused by one of the following:

1. Computer virus attacking the Windows system 2. Hardware is not compatible with the system or vice-versa 3. Corrupted or overloaded registry

As the first 2 on the list are areas that need to be taken care of by someone with a fair amount of knowledge or experience, I would leave that to the 'specialists', but would add....

In regard to 1 above, as I use a good virus protection software (Mcafee) I have never (touch wood) had a problem in this area. Just a word of advise though. Ensure you keep your virus software up to date. Mcafee has a system that is constantly being updated with the latest info every time I log on to the 'net. I do believe this is vital.

What I have found in regard to 2 above in a few cases was if the hardware had just been installed, and I was suddenly being plagued by all kinds of problems, then I just removed the hardware and contacted the manufacture or representative and in some cases all it took was upgrading the software drivers.

Which brings us to the 'corrupted or overloaded registry'. This is new territory to me but suffice it to say that I probably had never had a computer long enough for this to be a real problem. Until now! My computers always seemed to go out of date so quickly my complaint was always "Mr Salesman, but I just bought this computer 6 months ago, and now you tell me it is out of date!" The rest is history, 15 minutes later I would be the proud owner of the latest and greatest. So no real time for registries to clog up or bog down!

As I said, until now. Recently, (and with a massive sigh of relief) all I had to do was upgrade the computer memory and add another hard-drive and the 8 month old computer seemed as good as new. But with this longevity comes a new problem. My recently rejuvenated computer suddenly (seemed like overnight) began to slow down and even crashed once or twice. On asking the local techie what he thought about all this the immediate reply was "Do you have a registry cleaner installed?" My response? "A what?"

Fast-forward a few days and I now own a registry cleaner called Registryeasy. Interesting why this one was chosen. I was looking through a program called Clickbank and noticed the highest selling Registry Cleaner was Registryeasy. It was also the 2nd on the list sorted by number of searches amongst the approximately 11 000 other items on Clickbank - (See here)

My reasoning?

On an affiliate network like Clickbank to rank at a decent level your initial sales might be good but to get to the top and stay at the top means the product is good and has to have no or very few returns. Therefore the affiliates keep selling and the product rides to the top of the list.

So with this very unprofessional sounding selection system we now find ourselves a few days later and my computer is back to what it was at the time I had the upgrades done. The system is cleaner (less problems on each scan) and with a few other features like fixing problems with the 'start-up' programs and removing 'junk' files etc. I'm very happy. (touch wood!) To invest in a copy of this package for yourself you can go here - " target="_blank">RegistryEasy

Free Accounting Software For New Small Businesses

by Amanda M Gladden
A brief review of Microsoft's Office Accounting Express 2007, free software for small business owners.

Once your new business starts generating sales, the need to utilize some type of accounting system becomes very apparent. Many new business owners use pen and paper or Excel spreadsheets to accomplish this task. To make things a lot faster and more efficient, Microsoft has created Office Accounting Express 2007, an easy to use accounting software package. Did I mention that it is FREE?

Software features include:

Online sales integration gives you the ability to sell inventory, track activity, and download orders in online marketplaces such as eBay directly from Office Accounting Express 2007.

Equifax credit service enables you to monitor credit for your business, customers, or prospects.

PayPal integration enables you to get paid faster by offering the PayPal payment option to customers.

Microsoft Office Live integration enables businesses to more securely exchange financial information with accounting Professionals and other contacts.

Accountant Transfer Wizard helps you share data with an accounting Express and synchronizes data easily after the accountant is done updating the books.

Accountant View page provides a central location from which accountants can manage Office Accounting Express 2007 data for multiple clients independently.

Data import enables users to import accounting and financial data from additional programs and versions, including Microsoft Money, Excel, and QuickBooks.

Account and Customer Integration Wizard enables synchronized data sharing so that you can make updates to a customer’s record in one program and quickly see the results in the other program.

Journal entry is now expanded so you can be more productive by creating numerous journal entries posting on different dates and with different accounts.

Forms customization has been improved so you can tailor any form by adding, moving, creating, or renaming fields, and hiding unnecessary data element fields.

Customizable security roles have been improved and now you can add and remove employee permissions to control access to sensitive financial information.

The software is currently available in the U.S.A. and U.K. only and requires Windows 2003/XP. Unfortunately, there is no version currently available for Mac users.

Download your free copy at: www.ideawins.com/downloads

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Popups - They Can Be Dangerous

by Joel Pearce
Are you sick of having to just log of the net because of those popup's. Close one popup and another five happen to display themselves. Even worse you're kids are on the net and one of those Pornographic ads popup!!
Are you sick of having to just log of the net because of those popups. Close one popup and another five happen to display themselve's. Even worse you're kids are on the net and one of those Pornographic ads popup!!

Believe me I know how it feels!! Popup’s are a form of advertising. Most advertisers’ use popups of a way of getting your attention so they can then redirect you to their web site. They are usually trying to sell you their product or get your email address, so if you happen to give them your email address the individual or company will then in term send you information on their products. This can get very annoying! They tend to just keep sending email after email clogging your inbox with spam.

Popup’s really are one of the most hated entities on the net they are rude and just take up so much of a person’s time. And then comes another form of advertising! The popups sparring partner The pop under. This type of ad just likes to wait till your finished with the web site your using and when you think your done! There it is looking straight at you from your screen. Pop unders are actually a sneaky way of putting a ad in front of you without you even knowing about it. They position themselves behind the window itself so when you close the widow there it is!!

Now popups are not just used for advertising. Unfortunately they can be used for planting ad ware and other types of malware including spyware making them even more dangerous. People will use this to there advantage they will try to gain your personal information. Once this sort of software is installed in your computer they can have access to anything from your tax details to bank accounts and your passwords. So please be careful. Clicking on the x on top of a popup window will not stop people gaining entry to your computer it will actually give the popup the command to install the malware. The key is to stop popups and pop unders from ever appearing.

Now to the topic of preventing popups. There are thousand’s of popup and pop under blockers available on the net. Lets get down to the free versions. Don’t get me wrong if you can’t afford to pay for a good popup blocker at the moment then by all means download a free package. But please remember, “you get what you pay for” The free version’s have trouble blocking pop unders and some popups. Usually it’s the bad popups that they don’t stop. So spend some time to find a good popup blocker. Here is some super advice just for reading my article. Before you pay for anything on the net or if you are thinking of buying a certain blocker and I stress this to everyone I know. Please find out all about the product before you purchase. It’s as simple as using your favourite search engine. One web site I use is called ripofreport.com Just type in the product your planning on buying and see what people are saying.

Now it’s your turn to get rid of those intrusive and so annoying popup’s. Keep you and your family happy and safe for a peaceful online experience!!!

Joel Pearce writes on the popup

Easy Web Site Builder - Finding Software That's Right For You

by Jas Smith

Today there are many choices available for anyone looking for an easy website builder. Learn how this market has changed and what to look for when shopping for this type of software.
In the past, there used to be a one type fits all mindset, when it came to easy web site builders. Companies were developing programs that were very basic, general and only included a few templates to work with.

Overtime, software developers finally realized that there was a need for more robust and feature laden website builders that were also easy for people to use. As people out grew the software they were faced with the decision of buying another program that was better suited for their website building endeavors. As a result, there are now more and more website builders being released into the market place that are still easy to use and fit the needs of today's entrepreneur.

There are now web site builder html programs available that don't require months of learning yet offer many of the features and benefits of more advanced products. These programs are not only suitable for beginners but also for the more advanced users who would like to build a website quickly and easily.

Similarly, there are now HTML editors and personal web site builder software that are not only easy to use but are also being used by professionals and novices alike, who are marketing there serviced on the web.

Before investing in an easy web site builder one should determine their specific goals and make a list of the types of things they would like to incorporate in their website. This step is very important so that one purchases software that will suit their needs and abilities today and into the future.

The New Vista Operating System – Look BeforeYou Upgrade

by Virginia Sanders
There is some historical problems with new operating systems developed at Microsoft. Microsoft wants the consumer to discover all the little bugs that their million dollar a year development team did not discover. The new VISTA operating system has some critical flaws that everyone either overlooked or thought we were too stupid to discover.

The fact is that few consumers have yet to upgrade to Microsoft’s new operating system aptly named Windows Vista (tm) (new frontier) may be due to Microsoft's affinity for releasing software before all the bugs are ironed out. PC users have some historically documented concerns about hastily upgrading operating system from Microsoft.

Windows Vista(tm) is Microsoft’s new operating system that is installed on most new computers. These operating systems will be installed on all new home, business, personal computers notebook computers, Tablet PCs, and Internet media centers. However, if the new computer buyers have their way, Windows Vista(tm) will be sent back to the developers for a major over haul.

Some of the criticism of Windows Vista includes the amount of development time, restrictive licensing terms and the number of new DRM Digital Rights Management technology that is primarily created to stop copying of digital media. However the primary focus on the problems with Vista is the usability of some of the new features.

This software is promoted as a big help for users in finding, organizing information, staying connected and providing high-level security for the PC user. However, all these features are inconsequential when the operating system is not compatible with existing hardware or software.

There must be some information missing in the glossy brochures introducing this feature packed software. Did the writers or developers forget to mention that printers, your CD Rom, your CDR, et.al is not compatible the VISTA(tm) operating system? The brochures also do not mention that to get the appropriate drivers you are required to surf to the individual manufacturer's websites to find the driver that will interface with VISTA(tm).

I have no doubt that the Microsoft family of developers; programmers and media kingpins will fix all these little bugs in this super sophisticated software. How much time this will take will not matter because I am still uploading patches for Windows XP.

One new Windows Vista(tm) client, called me to complain. After purchasing a new Gateway and then a new Dell computer, this buyer realized the problem was not the computer but the Operating System.

"I am so mad I could spit." she yelled over the phone, " None of my hardware is working. I have been on the telephone for over 3 hours with a technician. He told me that they were aware of the problems. The technician tried to help but eventually told me that it was up to Microsoft to provide a fix for the incompatibility issues. "

He suggested that I visit each website for the peripherals that I needed drivers for. I explained to him in no uncertain terms, that I would not do that and requested that he send me a new hard drive with Window XP loaded on it. He spoke to his manager. They agreed to do just as I asked.

Consumers want to know whether the software runs faster, jumps higher and leaps tall buildings in a single bound. From the user in Texas (who happens to be my sister) , she states, “ Windows Vista(tm) may very well do all those things but it does not perform to my need. I cannot even open Excel.”

Even though dozens of game makers have been using DX10 for years and believe wholeheartedly in the benefits of the Windows Vista (tm) technology, the hardcore gamers are waiting for more compatible games to come out before they make the switch from Windows XP.

Dell Computers announced that they would provide their customers with a choice. They can still buy a brand new computer without having the Windows Vista(tm) operating system automatically installed. Before you upgrade, ask some questions.

Sunday, April 22, 2007

Reviews of Top 3 CBT Providers for Microsoft Office

by Caitlina Fuller
If you are interested in obtaining your Microsoft certifications then you are probably interested in knowing some of the best CBT providers for Microsoft office training. The following three CBT reviews of CBT providers will help you choose the right one for you!

If you are interested in obtaining your Microsoft certifications then you are probably interested in knowing some of the best CBT providers for Microsoft office training. The following three CBT reviews of CBT providers will help you choose the right one for you!

CBT Planet

Of all the Microsoft Office CBT providers CBT Planet is one of the best. That’s because most anything you want to study that has to do with computer or career training you will be able to do so with CBT Planet. Microsoft office training CBT is easy with the variety of formats offered. These include online computer classes that are live, instructor led courses, self paced computer based training, computer training videos in full motion, and even IT certification boot camps. All of these different methods of learning are offered by CBT Planet because everyone has their own way of learning and CBT Planet appeals to all those different methods.

Elearningdepot

Another great Microsoft Office CBT provider for Microsoft Office learning can be found at elearningdepot.com where you will find Microsoft training on your schedule. You can take up to a year to take your classes or even retake them if necessary. Elearningdepot will help you become the expert on Microsoft Office that you desire to be. Plus, you will save money doing it because the classes are affordable. That means you can get more for your money and really get trained the way you want to be.

Mindleaders

Mindleaders offers Microsoft Office training, too. You can take advantage of the Microsoft office CD-based training with Mindreaders as well as other types of training like e-courses and the like. The courses at Mindleaders include quizzes, interactive games, and more to make learning effective, interesting, and fun! You can take courses in QuickBooks, Windows, Office 2000, and more. There are even free courses you can give a try just to see if this type of learning will work for you!

Clear All History

by Sam Robert
With the advent of technology, the concept of paperless offices, online transactions have become an everyday event.

With the advent of technology, the concept of paperless offices, online transactions have become an everyday event. Today, for most of our work we depend on the computer and the Internet. However, while using the Internet most of us are not aware about the security problems faced by our computer during both online transactions as well as idle surfing.

Idle surfing can inadvertently save onto our computer images and files that may harm the computer’s hard disk. This may also lead to personal problems especially if the computer is one at the office and it is monitored by others as some images or banners may be saved without our knowledge or intent. Secondly, while conducting online financial transactions, there is always a threat of our Bank ID, password, and account details being hacked and misused by others. People are often under the misconception that deleting the history in the explorer will solve the problem and will not leak such information. However, this is not true as this data is stored in a system file that is not deleted when one deletes the explorer history.

Internet Eraser Software is one tool which helps to delete the information stored in this system file thereby making the computer hacker-free. The internet eraser software has certain embedded programs that can search and find hidden files that are to be deleted. This software ensures that the privacy of an individual is protected and deletes all such files that are unwanted and are stored in such hidden folders. Along with deleting unwanted files, the internet eraser software deletes the information that we have saved on the URL regarding bank or credit card transactions. This ensures that hackers are not privy to important information that may be misused resulting in losses.

The internet eraser software also has a shredder feature which is similar to the paper shredder traditionally used in offices. This performs the same task of permanently deleting files that are unwanted or that may leak important and confidential information from the hard disk. The internet eraser software also acts like an anti virus software, protecting the PC from unwanted viruses invading it through such hidden files and thus makes the entire online experience a safe and secure one. Internet eraser software is mainly helpful in preventing theft of identity as it ensures that all personal information is deleted and not available to hackers.

VBScript - Printing Results to the Commandline for Flexibility

by Duane Hennessy
Eliminating the ability of our scripts to write output directly to a file increases the flexibility in the ways our scripts can be used.

Often, when a script writes results to a file, the output file's path and name are hard-coded into the script or passed to the script as an Argument. Any further processing of the resulting data must read in data from a file and access the disk again. This limits our ability to use other Commandline tools forcing us to duplicate effort by writing Heap Sort routines instead of using DOS's Sort command and so on.

Eliminating the ability of our scripts to write output directly to a file increases the flexibility in the ways our scripts can be used. Our scripts should write any processed output to the Command Line Interface (CLI). For example, let's say we already have a script called Transform.vbs which transforms data in one file and sends the processed results to another file. Originally we may have had to provide both the input file and the output file as arguments (if we didn't hard-code the output file within our script).

cscript //nologo file_in.txt file_out.csv

So it does its job. But it really is WYSIAYG (what-you-see-is-all-you-get!). If our script wrote its processed results directly to the CLI then we could write the following:

cscript //nologo file_in.txt > my_file.csv

Seems like a small change doesn't it? But with the added flexibility we can now further process the results using DOS or other CLI tools. Suppose we wanted to sort the results A-Z aswell:

cscript //nologo file_in.txt | sort > my_file.csv

Perhaps we want to filter results based upon certain criteria and sort them A-Z:

cscript //nologo file_in.txt | find "my criteria" | sort > my_file.csv

We can do more. Say we have a file listing zoo animal details:


Cage=1, Animal=Monkey, Food=Bananas, Count=6
Cage=2, Animal=Giraffe, Food=Leaves, Count=2
Cage=3, Animal=Elephant, Food=Popcorn, Count=3
Cage=4, Animal=Prawn, Food=Fish flakes, Count=100
Cage=5, Animal=Lion, Food=Pedestrians, Count=20
Cage=6, Animal=Scorpion, Food=Chicken, Count=25
Cage=7, Animal=Otter, Food=Fish, Count=12

Our script processes this file working out the dollar amount of our food bill by accessing the prices of food on a database. We want a bill for all of the animals listed in order of their name. We do not want any animals which eat Fish or Fish flakes. We can process our data like this:

cscript //nologo file_in.txt | | find /V "Fish" | sort > my_file.csv

The result of our script processing the dollar cost and printing its CSV output is:


Elephant,Popcorn,$900
Giraffe,Leaves,$450
Lion,Pedestrians,$850
Monkey,Bananas,$300
Scorpion,Chicken,$250

With a little imagination we can extend this to print out results via the Notepad application using Notepad's [/P] switch. So now we have:

cscript //nologo file_in.txt | | find /V "Fish" | sort > my_file.csv&sleep 3000¬epad /p my_file.csv

Here is an example where we process multiple files (We don't print them though):

for %i in (*.txt) do cscript //nologo %i | find /V "Fish" | sort >> my_file.csv

All this flexibility is available to us when we forgo writing directly to a file from our script and print results directly to the CLI instead.

Saturday, April 21, 2007

IT Security and You! Part 3 - Data and Hardware-Media Disposal

by David Baldwin
We have all heard of the stories where PCs have ended up in Africa or elsewhere and the data has still been on the machines. This is bad, but very common. This is the third of four articles designed to help improve IT security.

IT Security and You!

Did You Lock the Doors and Windows When You Left For Work This Morning?

Part 3: Data and Hardware/Media Disposal

Giving Away PCs and Hardware This article does not discuss the Data Protection Act etc. It is about the proper disposal of information held on hardware and media.

We have all heard of the stories where PCs have ended up in Africa or elsewhere and the data has still been on the machines. This is bad, but very common. I have often worked on PCs that people have acquired from companies when the company upgraded, almost always the data is left on the PC, in one form or another (I will not get into the licensing implications).

Often a PC leaves a company having had the data deleted; the applications and operating systems are left on.

The truth is that most of the data still remains. This is due to the fact that the delete process on a PC normally only removes a reference to a file from the operating system (making the file invisible rather than removing it). Anyone with the right software can get a lot of the data back in seconds.

Sometimes the disks are formatted and an operating system installed with applications, back on the disk. Again; a lot of the data can still be recovered, basically anything that has not been overwritten.

When giving away a PC or hard disk, USB drive or other, you must fully delete data. This normally requires software that will overwrite all data, several times and with random patterns of information. A good system will overwrite areas of a disk making data retrieval impossible, even with hardware tools.

Why should you do this?

Privacy, prevent crime and you are duty bound to protect the data of others that you store.

The software to do this is cheap, £20 or so and is well worth the money.

Here is an example of one instance where a company had not done this...

A medical research company had given an employee a PC, who then left that company. The IT manager of that company had formatted the computer and re-installed software – supposedly!

The individual called me because they had created a long document then accidentally deleted it.

I put the hard disk into a machine I had already loaded with software recovery tools, I used a software package that cost less than £40. I set the software running and made a cup of tea, came back to the PC on which was now listed every deleted file, the one he wanted and all the research and security files from the company that originally had his PC. What’s more, and very concerning, I could restore and read most of the data.

Do you know where all your data is?

Ever watched the TV series 24 on Sky, about as intellectually challenging and as factual Bugs Bunny!

On such programs you see the authorities arrive at a company and the suspect presses a button and the data disappears.

What twaddle!

Any self-respecting individual or business would have regular backups, never stored on the same PC/Server as the original data and often (good practice) a backup taken off-site regularly. Let’s face it, a super villain with a software program of file that can take over the world and make the American authorities run around in circles, would not have just one copy of the file.

Take a leaf out of the super villains book, keep backups!

That being said, keep tabs on backups, backup data can contain even more data than your live systems, data now deleted for instance, but that data could still be of value to someone, it is valuable to you – or you would not have backed it up.

You must know where your data is, how secure it is and what is the most recent copy, any company with a Business Continuity Plan should know what data they need to activate the plan etc.

People forget just how valuable and how much data there is on backup media, many companies do not have a control in place for disposal of backup media, I have seen old tapes and disks put in dustbins. Would you throw all your old letters, bills, statements, emails into a public bin and put a sign on it to say “Personal Data – Get It Here”, I wouldn’t.

So do not just keep track of data on media and backups, but dispose of it properly, wipe data where possible and destroy the media where not. Please also remember that most media like CD’s can now be recycled, even after shredding.

Note, never snap a CD of DVD – you could lose an eye, use a proper shredder.

When I have not had the time or facilities to wipe customers hard drives I have opened them, then scoured the surface with a scouring pad. I have even bent and dismantled hard drives where the data has been very sensitive such a financial details for corporations. Be careful, some hard drives are actually coated glass, try to bend them and they will practically explode in your face, not pleasant!

My advice is use software meant for the purpose of data deletion, or get a profession, trusted company to dispose of the data.

Free Online Flash And Shockwave Games – An Overview

by Jonathon White
Experiencing expotential growth and refinement, hand in hand with the popularity and prevalence of Internet and computers all over the world - free online games present themselves as a happening industry, which is tempting, exciting and addictive at the user end.

Experiencing expotential growth and refinement, hand in hand with the popularity and prevalence of Internet and computers all over the world - free online games present themselves as a happening industry, which is tempting, exciting and addictive at the user end.

The free online games are either flash or shockwave based, to allow instant play access to a user online. The user can also choose to download the games at his / her discretion, to suit his / her convenience and preference. These free games are equally enjoyable online at a click’s instance, as they are after being downloaded on the hard disk of a user’s system.

The industry, offering free flash and shockwave online games on multitude of websites, has evolved to an extent that the variety and themes of the games are almost exhaustive. The superior quality of bright and colorful graphics, in combination with matching sound effects, renders the game mind-boggling and thrilling.

A first time visitor feels so enthralled to witness the wide expanse of these games, closing in at many of his/ her choicest of themes. So much so that he/ she cannot resist going through an absorbing experience of trying at least one of the games, and an eventual promise to return back many more times, in the faithful pursuit of passion for interactive entertainment.

Most of the people find these free of cost online flash and shockwave games so engrossing that they deliberately end up locking themselves within the lazy confines of their home or internet café to play these games without disturbance for hours together, eyes glued to their computer screens and hands undetachable from the keyboard/ mouse.

What's more, the widespread appeal of these games touches all age groups, right from the budding toddlers to the well-groomed adults. Many players tend to spend days and nights hooked-on to these flash and shockwave games, as these avail an unparallel opportunity to play all the regular parlor games plus some new ones, sitting at home, costing only the Internet connection and electricity bill.

The wide variety of free online flash and shockwave games available on net may be broadly classified into action and adventure games, arcade games, board games, card games, casino games, puzzle games, word games, strategy games, sports games, detective theme based games, shooting games et al.

Though shooting games can be clubbed with action and adventure games, their distinct popularity commands them specific mention. Further, while all types of online games have their own share of patrons and fans, the most popular are the board games, which are basically online versions of certain traditional board games, including Chess, Literati, Dominoes and Monopoly. What is more, a surfeit of websites specializes in casino-based games to constitute a separate commercial entity, popularly termed as the 'Online Casino Industry'.

These games have a magical influence on the players, as the realistic graphics and sound stimuli absorb the players in their own world, be it a Hollywood show or a casino in Las Vegas or a deck of the sunken Titanic. Most of these online games boast of being multi-player games that add a taste of virtual competition to the entire ambiance of the game in question. The competition element renders the playing experience much more exciting and enjoyable.

The online flash and shockwave games are also believed to be beneficial for the players, as these enhance competitive spirit, sportsmanship and inculcate some indispensable qualities, like ability to work hard, patience and perseverance. Certain games also improve the reflexes of the player. Strategy games help in developing thinking.

Virtual Reality Meetings Across the Pond will Prevent Pollution?

by L. Winslow
If we use technologies such as virtual reality, video conferencing and tele-commuting we can perhaps reduce pollution. By how much you ask? Well that is hard to say, what we need is some brilliant crack researchers to come along and figure out just how much we might save and how much pollution we might prevent by leveraging these high-tech methods.
If we use technologies such as virtual reality, video conferencing and tele-commuting we can perhaps reduce pollution. By how much you ask? Well that is hard to say, what we need is some brilliant crack researchers to come along and figure out just how much we might save and how much pollution we might prevent by leveraging these high-tech methods.

Indeed that might be interesting. Would you say that your summation is that by tele-commuting and Virtual Reality we will be doing less unnecessary traveling? I wish I knew the answer? It would be nice to look at some facts and figures and actual research. Let's talk about hypothetical scenarios or positives and negatives in this regard.

Positives:

Flights Across Pond - Airliners not heating up upper atmosphere and using Jet fuel (like Kerosene) putting out CO2. Less Congestion on Freeways stuck in traffic putting out excessive Carbon Monoxide since cars have richer mixtures when parked than at optimum 55 - 70 mph cruise speeds and less truck traffic, stuck in traffic thus less CO2?

Negatives:

Intensive computer systems at home for video conferencing etc. use 10 to 15 plus amps and a couple of those and you are already similar to running air-conditioning. Plus the more home workers the more air-conditioning units running in summer time in places like FL, GA, NC, SC, TX, OK, TN, AL, LA, MA, NM, AZ and CA; where as a suburban local corporation might be much more efficient considering new "glass coatings" and energy efficient systems, solar panels on roof, roof gardens, parking lot coatings (preventing urban heat), etc.

More delivery trucks doing inefficient deliveries to individual houses such as Pizza, Joe's Italian Deli, Fed Ex, UPS, special messengers, Geek Squad (I know they use Volkswagons that are economical, but I thought I would through that in for the FUN of it? :) and such.

Indeed, well this is a totally interesting subject and with clean coal technologies coming soon it will actually help clean the air by working at home. A quick side study; I almost died once in the Big Dig in traffic sitting there on a hot day for 90 minutes breathing fumes in the tunnel with little air flow and no air-conditioner (Freon depleted), rolled down the windows and oh man!

For those interested in VR tools, video online meetings here is a lead for you, a guy specializing in "Online Sales Presentations" Virtual Reality Style - www.mellanium.com. We have had lengthy conversations about this. Maybe this is the answer to CO2 emmissions?

Thursday, April 19, 2007

Outsourcing Java Mobile Applications

by Kirill Basikhin
Outsourcing Java Mobile Applications to Softage, a team talented experts with advanced technological knowledge provides efficient Java Mobile Application solutions.

World is shrinking and simultaneously technology is expanding. The latest to hit the technology bandwagon is java in mobile application. This technology is not new to the world but still many are unaware of it. Development of Java mobile applications requires expert programming personnel with sound understanding of the technology and usages. This is the reason why people and companies round the world prefer to go for outsourcing java work to other companies.

Softage is one of the leading information technology companies in Russia which has outshined its competitors in a very short span of time. Few years back no one ever thought that they will be using the phone with java compatibility but now it’s a reality. Java applications for latest cell phones and also the smart phones are riding high these days.

Now everyone round the globe want to use java compatible mobile phones as it adds enhanced functionality to the devices. But not everyone has the capability to exploit this technology as it involves a lot of research and sheer knowledge. That’s why people instead of trying themselves simply go for outsourcing java mobile application work to a professional. Using java application is a set of various stout integrated tools which are used for creating applications that minimize the development effort. Till now Nokia has successfully used this technology and the results have been awesome.

That’s why Softage provides complete java work and for that it has a range of tools that are specially designed for Java developers that make it effortless to competently create high-quality Java applications. This is the reason why, whenever anyone plans to go for outsourcing java, Softage is the first name that strikes the mind. There are various tools used in java applications and they are as follows:

· Eclipse IDE
· Series 40 Platform 2.0 SDKs.
· S60 Platform SDKs for Symbian OS, for Java.
· S60 Platform SDKs for Symbian OS, for Java.
· Series 80 Platform SDKs for Symbian OS, for Java

Moreover, it supports various key benefits such as:

· It supports industry leading Eclipse IDE
· It helps in development of MIDP and Personal Profile (PP) applications
· Moreover there is an additional MIDP development tools
· Last but not the least is the comprehensive support for PC-based testing of connected applications.

Thus, you can easily say that it is wise to go for outsourcing java instead of burning your own fingers. Softage’s expertise in java technology can provide complex and advanced solution your enterprise. Therefore what you are waiting for if you are looking for a company where you can go for outsourcing java then Softage is the best choice. For more information on outsourcing java, outsourcing java mobile application, java outsourcing, custom java programming and outsourcing software development please visit www.softage.ru.

Adobe Photoshop - Changing the World

by Mario G. Churchill
"To see is to believe" is what most people say. However, this old adage, like so many others, has been negated by technology. Today, with Adobe Photoshop, you can create any image you want and share it to other people. This way, Adobe Photoshop is changing the whole world's perspective on reality.

For those who do not know, Adobe Photoshop is a program designed to let people edit various images on their computers. Its primary purpose is to let people perform touch ups on pictures before printing them. Of course, each succeeding version of Adobe Photoshop included more and more tools which let people add effects and do various other things to their photographs. The Adobe Photoshop of today actually allows people to add sound and animation to their photographs for sharing on the internet.

In the past, people who took bad pictures were stuck with them. A lot of things can go wrong in a picture. There's the usual red-eye, skewed angles, shaky focus and others. Adobe Photoshop was the tool that made all of these things disappear. With Adobe Photoshop, people can take pictures like amateurs and still produce images like pros!

However, Adobe Photoshop today has gone beyond image editing. Today, the software is labeled as an image manipulation tool. This somehow gives people the impression that Adobe Photoshop actually gives them a greater degree of freedom than other image-editing programs available today. In fact, it actually does.

If sight is reality, then Adobe Photoshop can help you create any reality that you want. With Adobe Photoshop, you will be able to create images of other worlds. You will be able to capture the beauty of the universe inside a glass jar. Your creativity will be unleashed. That's how much Adobe Photoshop can change your life.

In the world today, one can easily observe the impact that Adobe Photoshop has wrought on culture. Just like Google, Adobe Photoshop is now being used by people as a verb. When a person is said to be photoshopping something, it is always assumed that the person is editing an image of come sort, whether he or she is actually using Adobe Photoshop or not.

Adobe Photoshop has also led to a whole new level of art and animation. Did you know that tablets were developed specifically with Adobe Photoshop in mind? Artists of today have gone beyond using paints and a canvas. Today's painters make use of tablet sensors and Adobe Photoshop to produce their masterpieces. With the technology of Adobe Photoshop, people are able to take the art of drawing, add a bit of computer technology, and come up with a whole new genre of animation.

In the past, images had to be saved as specific file types in order to be usable for Adobe Photoshop. However, because of the proliferation of digital cameras and camera phones today, Adobe Photoshop can actually import the photographs directly from the sources. This means that the gap between taking the picture and sharing it is reduced.

Adobe Photoshop might just be a tool for some people. However, you should know that tools, when used by enough people can change history. In this age where everything is defined by computers, Adobe Photoshop is just another tool which, in the right hands, can change the world.

What and Where to Look for the Best Membership Software for Your Organization

by Mario G. Churchill

In a large organization, the usual problem being encountered is keeping track of all its members. Not only it is time consuming, it also needs someone dedicated enough to update files and keep them in their proper order. Good thing there are now membership software to do all these

In a large organization, the usual problem being encountered is keeping track of all its members. Not only it is time consuming, it also needs someone dedicated enough to update files and keep them in their proper order. Good thing there are now membership software to do all these.

In the past, keeping records are done manually. All the files are then kept in storage areas or places that do not provide any means of security. There is also the tendency that some of the information might not turn out reliable because of negligence. In addition, unexpected factors may cause trouble and you will end up losing all that you have gathered and compiled.

Membership software is the solution to all these problems. All you have to do is install one in your system and let it do all the work for you. Now all you have to do is keep track and update what is stored in the software and you are free to do other important things.

With membership software, you have with you an assistant that can do what you are not too happy doing. You are relived of the task of compiling, updating and monitoring your members. You only have to program the software to do your bidding and you can leave everything to its capabilities.

When the time comes for you to contact each and every member, all you need to do is check the software and get all the information from there. Instead of wasting time noting down each of them, you just need to compile them into one file and start contacting them in no time at all.

Businesses are now enjoying the advantage that membership software can provide for them. Most of them have their own membership software depending on what their specific needs are.

Where to look for membership software.

1. Software providers.

There are many software providers out there that will be more than happy to provide you with the kind of software that is suitable for your needs. If you do not know anything about membership software, you can inquire first what software are there in the market.

You can ask them to guide you in choosing one. They are also the ones capable of advising you how best to use the software to your advantage. Be sure that the software is what you really need so you will not regret your decision later on.

2. The internet.

Do a simple search online and you will be given a lot of choices to choose from. To check out if they are any good, read the reviews or testimonials that other people gave about the product. You can also research on particular membership software to see what it is capable of.

It is best to choose one that is done by a well-known company. This is the only guarantee you have that you are getting what your money is worth.

Do not just choose the first one you see. Check out other options first and compare each of them before deciding on one. There might be other membership software with more benefits and functions that you can make the most of.

Tuesday, April 17, 2007

Free Anti Spyware versus Paid Anti Spyware - Are Free Anti Spyware Programs Good Enough?

By Peter Lim

Is your computer chugging along with a much reduced speed, and is it getting very difficult for you to log on to your favorite web page? Is your computer hard disk producing a lot of unnecessary noise that appears strange to you while running? If the answers are Yes to these questions, then you are probably the unfortunate victim of spyware infection!

Being infected by spyware can be a disaster because the performance of your computer is greatly reduced. Worst, spyware can include keyloggers, adware, trojans, browser hijackers, malware, adware and viruses.

In this article I will explain some of the most important factors you must consider when choosing an anti spyware software or a spyware removal software and the effectiveness of using free anti spyware removal programs available on the internet.

Free Anti Spyware versus Paid Anti Spyware Programs

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First, can I rely on a free anti spyware or a free adware remover software?

There are two main free spyware remover software available widely on the internet. One is a spybot that can identify spyware, and the other is an adware remover. They are pretty good in capturing most spyware that are commonly found on the internet. Note that I mention "most spyware", not ALL the spyware. In fact, to prove this to myself, I performed an experiment.

When my computer showed signs of distress, and started to produce a lot of weird noises from the hard disk, I knew I have had some form of spyware lodged in my computer. I ran the first spybot anti spyware and that removed several spyware, some tracking cookies, a trojan and an attempt at a possible browser hijacking.

In order to determine whether all the spyware were removed, I ran the second free software program which was an adware removal software. I was not surprised to see that there were more undiscovered spyware and even a registry key modification performed without my knowledge.

Next I ran the third anti spyware which was a paid anti spyware software.This paid software captured another three more spyware which consisted of tracking cookies and a trojan left unidentified after running the two most popular free anti spyware program on the internet.

This simple experiment showed that the free spybot spyware remover and the free adware remover failed to completely remove all the common spyware. In my estimation, the two free anti spyware programs could identify and remove around 70% of the common spyware and adware when used one after the other, whereas a paid anti spyware program had to be run to ensure complete removal of all the spyware and adware.

Superior Features of Paid Anti Spyware Programs

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What separates a paid anti spyware program from a free spyware detector and removal program? The most important difference is that of the identification and removal algorithms and the constant updates to the anti spyware definitions that you can get from the paid anti spyware programs. Most Paid solutions post updates, almost daily, of the newly discovered spyware released into the internet to ensure their software is always up to date and effective against newly discovered spyware, keyloggers, malware, tojans and browser hijacking attempts.

You also get better support services from these paid spyware suppliers. An anti spyware software is of no use to you if you encounter a technical issue and you cannot get technical support readily to provide you with help on your problem.

Thirdly, when looking for a paid solution, you will also look at their customer service. This can be easily checked by looking at the comments and reviews of other users of the anti spyware program. A paid software company that provides superior customer service suggests that the company is serious about its reputation and its business, and will not be folding up their business anytime leaving you without any updates or customer service. In contrast, I have known of many freeware that are released without technical and customer support.

Unless your computer security, confidentiality and privacy is of no serious concern to you, you will need an anti spyware software that possesses a superior algorithm to identify and remove all the malware that lodges on your computer online. Having a paid anti spyware that updates frequently with superior technical and customer support will provide you with peace of mind that your computer is secured against malware, spyware, keyloggers, browser hijacking and also identify theft.