Computer Matinence :)

You may not realize it, but your computer and your car have something in common, they both need regular maintenance. No, you don't need to change your computer's oil. But you should be updating your software, keeping your anti virus subscription up to date, and checking for spyware. Read on to learn what you can do to help improve your computer's security.

Getting started

               Here are some basics maintenance tasks you can do today to start improving your computer's security. Be sure you make these part of your ongoing maintenance as well.

* Sign up for software update e-mail notices. Many software companies will send you e-mail whenever a software update is available. This is particularly important for your operating system (e.g., Microsoft VV!|VD0VV$® or Macintosh), your antivirus program, and your firewall.
* Register your software. If you still have registration forms for existing software, send them in. And be sure to register new software in the future. This is another way for the software manufacturer to alert you when new updates are available.
* Install software updates immediately.
When you get an update notice, download the update immediately and install it. (Remember, downloading and installing are two separate tasks.)
An ounce of prevention

A few simple steps will help you keep your files safe and clean.

* Step 1: Update your software
* Step 2: Backup your files
* Step 3: Use antivirus software and keep it updated
* Step 4: Change your passwords
 

Developing ongoing maintenance practices

Now that you've done some ground work, it's time to start moving into longer term maintenance tasks. These are all tasks that you should do today (or as soon as possible) to get started. But for best results, make these a part of a regular maintenance schedule. I recommend setting aside time each week to help keep your computer secure.

* Back up your files. Backing up your files simply means creating a copy of your computer files that you can use in the event the originals are lost.

* Scan your files with up to date antivirus software. Use your antivirus scan tool regularly to search for potential computer viruses and worms. Also, check your antivirus program's user manual to see if you can schedule an automatic scan of your computer.
.
* Change your passwords. Using the same password increases the odds that someone else will discover it. Change all of your passwords regularly to reduce your risk. Also, choose your passwords carefully. .

Making a schedule

One of the best ways to help protect your computer is to perform maintenance regularly. To help you keep track, I suggest making a regular "appointment" with your computer. Treat it like you would any other appointment. Record it in your datebook or online calendar, and if you cannot make it, reschedule. Remember, you are not only helping to improve your computer, you are also helping to protect your personal information :)

Caught A Virus ? ?

          Heard this one before? You must run antivirus software and keep it up to date or else your PC will get infected, you'll lose all your data, and you'll incur the wrath of every e-mail buddy you unknowingly infect because of your carelessness.

You know they're right. Yet for one reason or another, you're not running antivirus software, or you are but it's not up to date. Maybe you turned off your virus scanner because it conflicted with another program. Maybe you got tired of upgrading after you bought Norton Antivirus 2006 2007, and 2008. Or maybe your annual subscription of virus definitions recently expired, and you've put off renewing.

Today's viruses, worms, and so-called bots, which turn your PC into a zombie that does the hacker's bidding (such as mass-mailing spam) aren't going to announce their presence. Real viruses aren't like the ones in Hollywood movies that melt down whole networks in seconds and destroy alien spacecraft. They operate in the background, quietly altering data, stealing private operations, or using your PC for their own illegal ends. This makes them hard to spot if you're not well protected.

Is Your PC "Owned?"

I should start by saying that not every system oddity is due to a virus, worm, or bot. Is your system slowing down? Is your hard drive filling up rapidly? Are programs crashing without warning? These symptoms are more likely caused by Windows, or badly written legitimate programs, rather than malware. After all, people who write malware want to hide their program's presence. People who write commercial software put icons all over your desktop. Who's going to work harder to go unnoticed?

Other indicators that may, in fact, indicate that there's nothing that you need to worry about, include:

* An automated e-mail telling you that you're sending out infected mail. E-mail viruses and worms typically come from faked addresses.
* A frantic note from a friend saying they've been infected, and therefore so have you. This is likely a hoax. It's especially suspicious if the note tells you the virus can't be detected but you can get rid of it by deleting one simple file. Don't be fooled and don't delete that file.

I'm not saying that you should ignore such warnings. Copy the subject line or a snippet from the body of the e-mail and plug it into your favorite search engine to see if other people have received the same note. A security site may have already pegged it as a hoax.

Sniffing Out an Infection

There are signs that indicate that your PC is actually infected. A lot of network activity coming from your system (when you're not actually using Internet) can be a good indicator that something is amiss. A good software firewall, such as ZoneAlarm, will ask your permission before letting anything leave your PC, and will give you enough information to help you judge if the outgoing data is legitimate. By the way, the firewall that comes with Windows, even the improved version in XP Service Pack 2, lacks this capability.

To put a network status light in your system tray, follow these steps: In Windows XP, choose Start, Control Panel, Network Connections, right-click the network connection you want to monitor, choose Properties, check "Show icon in notification area when connected," and click OK.

If you're interested in being a PC detective, you can sniff around further for malware. By hitting Ctrl-Alt-Delete in Windows, you'll bring up the Task Manager, which will show you the various processes your system is running. Most, if not all, are legit, but if you see a file name that looks suspicious, type it into a search engine and find out what it is.

Want another place to look? In Windows XP, click Start, Run, type "services.msc" in the box, and press Enter. You'll see detailed descriptions of the services Windows is running. Something look weird? Check with your search engine.

Finally, you can do more detective work by selecting Start, Run, and typing "msconfig" in the box. With this tool you not only see the services running, but also the programs that your system is launching at startup. Again, check for anything weird.

If any of these tools won't run--or if your security software won't run--that in itself is a good sign your computer is infected. Some viruses intentionally disable such programs as a way to protect themselves.

What to Do Next ? ? :)

Once you're fairly sure your system is infected, don't panic. There are steps you can take to assess the damage, depending on your current level of protection.

* If you don't have any antivirus software on your system, or if the software has stopped working, stay online and go for a free scan at one of several Web sites. There's McAfee FreeScan, Symantec Security Check, and Trend Micro's HouseCall. If one doesn't find anything, try two. In fact, running a free online virus scan is a good way to double-check the work of your own local antivirus program. When you're done, buy or download a real antivirus program.
* If you have antivirus software, but it isn't active, get offline, unplug wires whatever it takes to stop your computer from communicating via the Internet. Then, promptly perform a scan with the installed software.
* If nothing seems to be working, do more research on the Web. There are several online virus libraries where you can find out about known viruses. These sites often provide instructions for removing viruses, if manual removal is possible or a free removal tool if it isn't. Check out GriSOFT's Virus Encyclopedia, Eset's Virus Descriptions, McAffee's Virus Glossary, Symantec's Virus Encyclopedia, or Trend Micro's Virus Encyclopedia.

A Microgram of Prevention

Assuming your system is now clean, you need to make sure it stays that way. Preventing a breach of your computer's security is far more effective than cleaning up the mess afterwards. Start with a good security program, such Trend Micro's PC-Cillin, which you can buy for $50 or u can download antivirus software from torrents but before downloading be care full your downloading correct software.

Don't want to shell out any money? You can cobble together security through free downloads, such as AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition, ZoneAlarm (a personal firewall), and Ad-Aware SE (an antispyware tool) or download trail versions it wil work good.

Just make sure you keep all security software up to date. The bad guys constantly try out new ways to fool security programs. Any security tool without regular, easy (if not automatic) updates isn't worth your money or your time.

Speaking of updating, the same goes for Windows. Use Windows Update (it's right there on your Start Menu) to make sure you're getting all of the high priority updates. If you run Windows XP, make sure to get the Service Pack 2 update. To find out if you already have it, right-click My Computer, and select Properties. Under the General tab, under System, it should say "Service Pack 2."

Here are a few more pointers for a virus-free life:

* Be careful with e-mail. Set your e-mail software security settings to high. Don't open messages with generic-sounding subjects that don't apply specifically to you from people you don't know. Don't open an attachment unless you're expecting it.
* If you have broadband Internet access, such as DSL or cable, get a router, even if you only have one PC. A router adds an extra layer of protection because your PC is not connecting directly with the Internet.
* Check your Internet ports. These doorways between your computer and the Internet can be open, in which case your PC is very vulnerable; closed, but still somewhat vulnerable; or stealthed (or hidden), which is safest. Visit Gibson Research's Web site and run the free ShieldsUP test to see your ports' status. If some ports show up as closed or worse yet, open check your router's documentation to find out how to hide them.

any doubt contact me at santhosh.shivanarayana@gmail.com

Yahoo Messeger no add's

Yahoo IM no longer uses 'YUrl', but uses 'View' instead. You going to click on each key inside of 'View' and edit the 'banner url' string to anything you want. I simply cleared mine out completely and it works flawlessly
Here is what you going to do:

Run regedit
Goto HKEY_CURRENT_USER -> Software -> Yahoo -> Pager -> View

Inside the 'View' key there are a several other keys. go through each one and edit the 'banner url' string to your liking. It even works if the string is left blank (this causes it to look as if ads were never even implemented)
Restart Yahoo! IM for the effect to take hold.

Download Music And Video With Media Player

Heres a simple trick while using media player

Find a site that lets you play music or videos using media player e.g. ringtones/mp3 and so on.

when media player loads and is playing your music/video click File then Save Media As..

select a place to save to and rename file if you wish but dont change File Type leave it as Internet Cache then click save.

your music/video will then download quicker than normal download speed and you will then have your file in the location you set.

BUT this won't work with every site so dont panic just try another

Rename 'recycle Bin' To Whatever You Want

1. Start, Run, 'Regedit'.

2. Press 'Ctrl'+'F' to open find box and type 'Recycle Bin' to search.
3. Change any value data with 'Recycle Bin' to whatever name you want to give it ( ie, like 'Trash Can' or 'Dump' etc).
4. Press F3 to continue searching for 'Recycle Bin' and change wherever you come across 'Recycle Bin' to new its new name.
5. Repeat step 4 until you have finished with searching and changed all values to its new name.
6. Close regedit and hit F5 on desktop to see the new name on screen.

Note: As a good practice, always backup your registry before changing anything although changing 'Recycle Bin' name is a simple tweak and doesnt affect anything else.

No Text Icons

If you would like your desktop Icons to have no text underneath then try this tweak:

Right click the icon and select "Rename"

Now hold the "Alt" key and type "255" and hit Enter

NOTE : It may only work with the keypad numbers and not the number keys on top of the keyboard.(be sure NUM lock is off)

How to save Windows xp updates

Go to the Windows Update web site.

In the left pane, under Other Options, select “Personalize Windows Update”.
Under “Set Options for Windows Update”, select the checkbox for “Display the Link to Windows Update Catalog under ‘See Also’”, then click “Save Settings”.
Go back to the Windows Update web site.
In the left pane, under “See Also”, select “Windows Update Catalog”.
Select “Find Updates for Microsoft Operating Systems”.
Select the operating system and language of your choice.
Select “Critical Updates and Service Packs”.
Select all of the patches you’d like to download, then click on “Go to download basket” to download them.

How To Convert File System, FAT or FAT32 to NTFS

open a dos prompt and give the command

convert C: /fs:ntfs

this command would convert your C: drive to ntfs.

if the system cannot lock the drive, you will be prompted to convert it during next reboot.

Normally you should select yes.

Conversion from fat/fat32 to ntfs is non-destructive, your data on the drive will NOT be lost.

Be aware that converting to ntfs will make that partition of your drive unreadable under dos unless you have ntfs utilites to do so.

Disable The Send Error Report, to Microsoft

Open Control Panel
Click on Preformance and Maintenance.
Click on System.
Then click on the Advanced tab
Click on the error reporting button on the bottom of the windows.
Select Disable error reporting.
Click OK

Tips for increasing XP performance

1.  Your Pc Must have 256MB RAM , 512 MB Cache , Intel Pentium 4 Processor, 40 GB HDD. These are the minimum requirements. If not upgrade  it today.

2.  If you see a 'virtual memory low' message then increase its virtual memory. To increase virtual memory,

Go to My Computer->Properties->Advanced->Performance Settings->Advanced->Virtual Memory->Change->Select the appropriate drive->Custom size->set appropriate level, it is 600(min.) & 700(max.)->Ok.

3.  Increase 'Visual Performance'.

Go to My Computer->Properties->Advanced->Performance Settings->Visual Settings->Custom->Select only the following options.

a)Slide taskbar buttons.
b)Smooth edges of screen fonts.
c)Smooth-scroll list boxes.
d)Use a background image for each folder type.
e)Use visual style on windows and buttons.

4.  Don't keep unwanted/extra fonts. To remove extra fonts, Go to Start->Settings->Control Panel->Fonts.

 5.  Your Desktop Wallpaper & Screensaver consume a large amount of disk space. Select the 'None' option

 for both wallpapers & Screensavers.

6.  Avoid keeping DEMO Games.

7.  Uninstall the unwanted Softwares.

8.  Use Registry Cleaner to keep your registry clean(without errors).

9.  Try to keep Music and pictures files in the folder specified by windows itself.

10. Use Hybernating Option for Quick windows start. To active Hybernating follow the following steps.
Desktop->Properties->Screensaver->Power->Hybernating->Enable Hybernating->Ok.

11. Keep your Dektop clean with unwanted icons.

12. Use Intel Application Accelerator to speed up your disk access,

13. Memory management (at least 512MB RAM Required). This allow XP to keep data in Memory instead of paging section of RAM.
Goto->Start->Run->regedit->HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE->SYSTEM->

CurrentControlSet->Control->Session Manager->Memory Management->Double click it->DisablePageingExecutive->Double Clik it->Set value to1.

14. Disable Yahoo Messenger, Google Talk, and other unwanted programs from startup. 

Go to->Start->Run->msconfig->startup here un click yahoo messenger and google talk from the list.

15. For Windows XP, You must use NTFS partition. FAT partition is less supportive for Windows XP. for how to convert FAT to NTFS check out my next post.

16. In BIOS, Select first booting device as your HDD.

17. Setting Priority High for a particular program.
Open Task Manager->Processes->Select the desired Program->Right Click->Set Priority->High->Ok.
This Priority set if for current session. Once you restart your system then its priority will again be Normal.

18. Keep deleting your Temporary Internet Files in regular intervals.
Go to Windows Drive (c: or d:)->Select the User->Local Settings->Temporary Internet Files

19. Empty your browser's cache in regular intervals.

20. Avoid keeping Movies in your PC.

Boost Extreme Speed to your BroadBand Connection

Start --> Run --> type gpedit.msc go to computer configuration >administrative templetes >network >QoS packet scduler >Limit reservable Bandwidth enable it.

set it to 0 percentage.

     This settings Determines the percentage of connection bandwidth that the system can reserve. This value limits thecombined bandwidth reservations of all programs running on the system.

By default, the Packet Scheduler limits the system to 20 percent of the bandwidth of a connection, but you can usethis setting to override the default.

If you enable this setting, you can use the "Bandwidth limit" box to adjust the amount of bandwidth the system canreserve.

If you disable this setting or do not configure it, the system uses the default value of 20 percent of the connection.

If u change it to 0 then the 20 % incrase in your bandwidth.

                    Ant Problem plz mail @ santhosh.shivanarayana@gmail.com

Clear Unwanted Items From Add And Remove

 Run the Registry Editor (Start --> Run --> regedit press enter).

Open HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\ SOFTWARE\ Microsoft\ Windows\ CurrentVersion\ Uninstall, and remove any unwanted subkeys under "Uninstall."

Change The Default Location For Installing Applications

As the size of hardrives increase, more people are using partitions to seperate and store groups of files.

XP uses the C:\Program Files directory as the default base directory into which new programs are installed. However, you can change the default installation drive and/ or directory by using a Registry hack.

Run the Registry Editor (Start--> RUN--> regedit press enter)and go to

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion

Look for the value named ProgramFilesDir. by default, this value will be C:\Program Files. Edit the value to any valid drive or folder and XP will use that new location as the default installation directory for new programs.

Boot your XP as Fast as possible

1.  Open notepad.exe, type "del c:\windows\prefetch\ntosboot-*.* /q" (without the quotes) & save as "ntosboot.bat" in c:\

2.  From the Start menu, select "Run..." & type "gpedit.msc".

3.  Double click "Windows Settings" under "Computer Configuration" and double click again on "Shutdown" in the right window.

4.  In the new window, click "add", "Browse", locate your "ntosboot.bat" file & click "Open".

5.  Click "OK", "Apply" & "OK" once again to exit.

6.  From the Start menu, select "Run..." & type "devmgmt.msc".

7.  Double click on "IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers"

8.  Right click on "Primary IDE Channel" and select "Properties".

9.  Select the "Advanced Settings" tab then on the device or 1 that doesn't have 'device type' greyed out select 'none' instead of 'autodetect' & click "OK".

10.  Right click on "Secondary IDE channel", select "Properties" and repeat step 9.

11.  Reboot your computer.

        Any pboblem plz mail me at santhosh.shivanarayana@gmail.com

How to Increase System speed

Since defragging the disk won't do much to improve Windows XP performance, here are some suggestions that will. Each can enhance the performance and reliability of your' PCs. Best of all, most of them will cost you nothing.

1.  To decrease a system's boot time and increase system performance, use the money you save by not buying defragmentation software -- the built-in Windows defragmenter works just fine -- and instead equip the computer with an Ultra-133 or Serial ATA hard drive with 8-MB cache buffer.

2.  If a PC has less than 512 MB of RAM, add more memory. This is a relatively inexpensive and easy upgrade that can dramatically improve system performance.

3.  Ensure that Windows XP is utilizing the NTFS file system. If you're not sure, here's how to check: First, double-click the My Computer icon, right-click on the C: Drive, then select Properties. Next, examine the File System type; if it says FAT32, then back-up any important data. Next, click Start, click Run, type CMD, and then click OK. At the prompt, type CONVERT C: /FS:NTFS and press the Enter key. This process may take a while; it's important that the computer be uninterrupted and virus-free. The file system used by the bootable drive will be either FAT32 or NTFS. I highly recommend NTFS for its superior security, reliability, and efficiency with larger disk drives.

4.  Disable file indexing. The indexing service extracts information from documents and other files on the hard drive and creates a "searchable keyword index." As you can imagine, this process can be quite taxing on any system. The idea is that the user can search for a word, phrase, or property inside a document, should they have hundreds or thousands of documents and not know the file name of the document they want. Windows XP's built-in search functionality can still perform these kinds of searches without the Indexing service. It just takes longer. The OS has to open each file at the time of the request to help find what the user is looking for.Most people never need this feature of search. Those who do are typically in a large corporate environment where thousands of documents are located on at least one server. But if you're a typical system builder, most of your clients are small and medium businesses. And if your clients have no need for this search feature, I recommend disabling it.Here's how: First, double-click the My Computer icon. Next, right-click on the C: Drive, then select Properties. Uncheck "Allow Indexing Service to index this disk for fast file searching." Next, apply changes to "C: subfolders and files," and click OK. If a warning or error message appears (such as "Access is denied"), click the Ignore All button.

5.  Update the PC's video and motherboard chipset drivers. Also, update and configure the BIOS.

6.  Empty the Windows Prefetch folder every three months or so. Windows XP can "prefetch" portions of data and applications that are used frequently. This makes processes appear to load faster when called upon by the user. That's fine. But over time, the prefetch folder may become overloaded with references to files and applications no longer in use. When that happens, Windows XP is wasting time, and slowing system performance, by pre-loading them. Nothing critical is in this folder, and the entire contents are safe to delete.

7.  Once a month, run a disk cleanup. Here's how: Double-click the My Computer icon. Then right-click on the C: drive and select Properties. Click the Disk Cleanup button -- it's just to the right of the Capacity pie graph -- and delete all temporary files.

8.  In your Device Manager, double-click on the IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers device, and ensure that DMA is enabled for each drive you have connected to the Primary and Secondary controller. Do this by double-clicking on Primary IDE Channel. Then click the Advanced Settings tab. Ensure the Transfer Mode is set to "DMA if available" for both Device 0 and Device 1. Then repeat this process with the Secondary IDE Channel.

9.  Remove all spyware from the computer. Use free programs such as AdAware by Lavasoft or SpyBot Search & Destroy. Once these programs are installed, be sure to check for and download any updates before starting your search. Anything either program finds can be safely removed. Any free software that requires spyware to run will no longer function once the spyware portion has been removed; if your customer really wants the program even though it contains spyware, simply reinstall it.

10.  Remove any unnecessary programs and/or items from Windows Startup routine using the MSCONFIG utility. Here's how: First, click Start, click Run, type MSCONFIG, and click OK. Click the StartUp tab, then uncheck any items you don't want to start when Windows starts. Unsure what some items are? Visit the WinTasks Process Library. It contains known system processes, applications, as well as spyware references and explanations. Or quickly identify them by searching for the filenames using Google or another Web search engine.

11.  Remove any unnecessary or unused programs from the Add/Remove Programs section of the Control Panel.

12.  Turn off any and all unnecessary animations, and disable active desktop. In fact, for optimal performance, turn off all animations. Windows XP offers many different settings in this area. Here's how to do it: First click on the System icon in the Control Panel. Next, click on the Advanced tab. Select the Settings button located under Performance. Feel free to play around with the options offered here, as nothing you can change will alter the reliability of the computer -- only its responsiveness.

13.  Visit Microsoft's Windows update site regularly, and download all updates labeled Critical. Download any optional updates at your discretion.

14.  Update the customer's anti-virus software on a weekly, even daily, basis. Make sure they have only one anti-virus software package installed. Mixing anti-virus software is a sure way to spell disaster for performance and reliability.

15.  Make sure you have fewer than 500 type fonts installed on their computer. The more fonts they have, the slower the system will become. While Windows XP handles fonts much more efficiently than did the previous versions of Windows, too many fonts -- that is, anything over 500 -- will noticeably tax the system.

16.  Do not partition the hard drive. Windows XP's NTFS file system runs more efficiently on one large partition. The data is no safer on a separate partition, and a reformat is never necessary to reinstall an operating system. The same excuses people offer for using partitions apply to using a folder instead. For example, instead of putting all your data on the D: drive, put it in a folder called "D drive." You'll achieve the same organizational benefits that a separate partition offers, but without the degradation in system performance. Also, your free space won't be limited by the size of the partition; instead, it will be limited by the size of the entire hard drive. This means you won't need to resize any partitions, ever. That task can be time-consuming and also can result in lost data.

17.  Check the system's RAM to ensure it is operating properly. I recommend using a free program called MemTest86. The download will make a bootable CD or diskette (your choice), which will run 10 extensive tests on the PC's memory automatically after you boot to the disk you created. Allow all tests to run until at least three passes of the 10 tests are completed. If the program encounters any errors, turn off and unplug the computer, remove a stick of memory (assuming you have more than one), and run the test again. Remember, bad memory cannot be repaired, but only replaced.

18.  If the PC has a CD or DVD recorder, check the drive manufacturer's Web site for updated firmware. In some cases you'll be able to upgrade the recorder to a faster speed. Best of all, it's free.

19.  Disable unnecessary services. Windows XP loads a lot of services that you most likely does not need. To determine which services you can disable for you, visit the Black Viper site for Windows XP configurations.

20.  If you're sick of a single Windows Explorer window crashing and then taking the rest of your OS down with it, then follow this tip: open My Computer, click on Tools, then Folder Options. Now click on the View tab. Scroll down to "Launch folder windows in a separate process," and enable this option. You'll have to reboot your machine for this option to take effect.

21.   At least once a year, open the computer's cases and blow out all the dust and debris. While you're in there, check that all the fans are turning properly. Also inspect the motherboard capacitors for bulging or leaks.

Any Problem plz feel free to mail at santhosh.shivanarayana@gmail.com

Reboot whitout actually rebooting your system

Have you ever been using your computer and your system suddenly stops responding in ways like it if you try to open something it just hangs? One time I tried deleting a folder and it said it was in use, but it really wasn't. If this ever happens to you, you can follow these simple steps to 'reboot' your computer without 'rebooting' it.

Press CRTL + ALT + DEL

Goto the 'processes' tab and click explorer.exe once and then click 'end process'.

Now, click File > New Task and type explorer.exe

Everything should be fine now. If the problem is major, I would recomend actually shutting down then starting up again.

User's guide to avoiding virus infections

     Computer viruses are everywhere. This guide will show you how to stay alert and how to avoid getting infections on your computer. Having an updated virus scanner is only a small part of this, there are many ways that you can prevent having viruses other than a virus scanner, as it will not always save you. Before telling about Antivirus let me give brief introduction about types of virus, Trojans and all.

Types of viruses

       There are many type of viruses. Typical viruses are simply programs or scripts that will do various damage to your computer, such as corrupting files, copying itself into files, slowly deleting all your hard drive etc. This depends on the virus. Most viruses also mail themselves to other people in the address book. This way they spread really fast and appear at others  inboxes as too many people still fall for these. Most viruses will try to convince you to open the attachment.

Worms

          Worms are different type of viruses, but the same idea, but they are usually designed to copy themselves a lot over a network and usually try to eat up as much bandwidth as possible by sending commands to servers to try to get in. The code red worm is a good example of this. This worm breaks in a security hole in Microsoft IIS (Internet Information Server) in which is a badly coded http server that, despite the security risks, a lot of people use it. When the worm successfully gets in, it will try to go into other servers from there. Some worms such as the SQL slammer will simply send themselves over and over so many times that they will clog up networks, and sometimes all of the internet. Worms usually affect servers more than home users, but again, this depends on what worm it is. It is suspected that most worms are efforts from the RIAA to try to stop piracy, so they try to clog up networks that could contain files. Unfortunately, the RIAA have the authority to do these damages and even if caught, nothing can be done.

Trojans

            Trojans are another type of virus. They are simply like a server in which enables hackers to get into and control the computer. A trojan such as Subseven can enable a hacker to do various things such as control the mouse, eject the cd-rom drive, delete/download/upload files and much more.

MBR virues

                  Boot sector viruses are another type, they are similar to file viruses, but instead they go in the boot sector and can cause serious damage when the computer is booted, some can easily format your drive simply by booting your computer. These are hard to remove.Most viruses have various characteristics. For example, a worm can also be a trojan and also infect the boot sector. It all depends on how the virus is written and what it is designed to do. That's why there are not really strong structured categories, as they can easily mix one in the other.

Know the potentially dangerous files

       Like any other files, viruses must be opened in order to do something. Most viruses come through e-mail as an attachment. Some will make it look like it's someone you know, and it will try to convince you to open an attachment. Never open attachments at any cost! Some viruses will infect files in programs, so opening a program will actually open the virus, maybe the same one, or another part of it.

All files have what is called an extension. This is the 3 last letters after the last period. For example, setup.exe has a file extension of .exe.Extensions to watch out for are .exe .com .bat .scr .pif .vbs and others, but these are the most seen. .exe .com .bat .pif and .scr are valid extensions for executables. A virus writer will simply rename it to one of these and it will work the same way. .pif is a shortcut to an ms-dos programand will have the ms dos icon, but will still execute whatever code is in it, so an .exe can be renamed to .pif and be run the same way. .bat is a batch file, which can contain instructions to do various file activities, but again, a .exe can be renamed to .bat and it will execute it  .vbs is a visual basic script. For some reason, Microsoft provides this scripting language along with the scripting host to make it more convenient to design and write viruses quickly and easily. There are programs that are written with this language, but it is compiled into an exe. Exe is the usual extension for programs, you would not have a software CD install a bunch of vbs files all over Bottom line is, if you don't know what a file is just don't open it. Some viruses will sometimes be named a way as to mask the real file extension to make it look like a harmless file such as a image file. This is easily noticed, but can still be missed. Simply don't open unexpected files.

If you get something that appears like something legit, just ask the person it came from if they sent it. Most viruses use a friend's address to make it look like it comes from them. The virus does this by using the person's address when sending itself to the address book contacts.

Downloads

          Email is not the only way to get viruses. P2P (file sharing programs such as kazaa, winmx, direct connect etc) is also another way to get viruses.When downloading programs, the main thing to watch out for is the file size. If you are downloading a program that you expect to be rather large such as a game, don't grab a file that is 10KB, since it's most likely a virus. However, I've been caught with a virus even with large files, so file size is not the only thing to watch, as an exe is still valid even if junk is added at the end, so a 64KB virus will still function even if it is turned into 650MB.

Icons are something to look for too, fortunately, virus writers don't take time to put icons. If your download should be a setup file, you should see the icon of a setup file. If it's just the blank icon that typical plain or corrupted exes have, don't open it.

Another thing to do, which should be obvious, is to scan the file for viruses using updated virus definitions. But don't rely on only your virus scanner, as they are not perfect, and if the virus has not been reported to them yet, they won't know to create a definition for it.

Changing settings to stay safe

     If you do open a virus, you want to avoid it going to all your friends. The simplest thing to do is to NOT use the windows address book. It is easy for viruses to get through and Microsoft is not doing anything about it. Just don't use it. Put them in spreadsheet or even better write them down somewhere. Don't use the address book.

Another "feature" to avoid is the auto preview. Some viruses can attempt to open themselves just by opening the email. There are security holes in Microsoft mail programs that allow this. In Microsoft Outlook, click on the view menu and remove auto preview. You need to do this for every folder, but the inbox is most important. In Outlook Express, click on the view menu and go to layout. In the dialog box, you will see a check box for show preview pane. Uncheck it and click ok.

Another thing you should change, especially if you download a lot, is the option that allows you to view the file extension. In Win98 or Win XP or in Win 7, go in any folder, click on view thenfolder options and choose the view tab and where it says hide file extension for known types, uncheck it. In win2k, it is the same process, but instead, go in the control panel and open the folder options icon.

Avoiding server worms

          Some viruses, mostly worms, can exploit through servers and affect other servers from servers that have been infected. A good example is the SQL slammer. This was a worm that affected SQL servers run by Microsoft IIS and Microsoft SQL Server. Once the worm gets in, that particular server startstrying to find more exploitable driving internet connections to a halt in the process. Servers running Apache were unaffected by that, except for the many hits to try to get in. IceTeks received about 100 hits per day when it was run on a dedicated home server. Most hits came from major ISPs and other big websites that had no clue they were still affected.

The simple solution to avoid these types of viruses is to NOT use Microsoft based server software for your server, especially if it is a public server. The operating system is also crucial, but the actual server software is much more. Apache, which is free, is much more secure than Microsoft based server programs such as IIS. IIS may be easier to understand and administer, but it saves a lot of hassle to learn how to use Apache. IIS has a large number of vulnerabilities, such as the ability to gain access to cmd.exe and basically delete the whole drive by doing a ../ request in the address bar. These don't require viruses, but simply commands, but there are worms written to automatically make these commands. The code red does this.

Removing a virus

                            The best way to do this is to do a clean install. However, depending on how bad the virus is, a simple clean install won't remove it. So to be extra sure, you'll want to do a low level format. This is especially true of you got a boot sector virus, as even repartitioning and formatting won't quite remove it, but sometimes you can get away with an fdisk /mbr, but not all the time. here are various removal tools for viruses, it is good to use them and see if they work, but proceeding with the clean install is recommended. You never know if the virus is completely removed by deleting files you suspect are infected. Some viruses such as the Bugbear will close anti virus programs and other programs to make it hard and annoying to figure out what to do. A clean install is the best way to ensure that it's gone for good.Viruses are out there, don't be one of the many infected ones. Stay alert and stay safe. Don't open unexpected files, regularly update your virus definitions and scan downloaded files.

I hope this article is useful for you.

Any doubts plz mail me at Santhosh.shivanarayana@gmail.com

Is your Antivirus active?

Wanna know whether your anti virus is working or not?
        Than try it out
1. Create a new notepad file & rename it as ANYTHING you LIKE.txt
2. Copy & paste the following code
X5O!P%@AP[4\PZX54(P^)7CC)7}$EICAR-STANDARD-ANTIVIRUS-TEST-FILE!$H+H*
3. It Should Look like this

4.Then Save it.Then Scan it with ur Antivirus, it should show it as a virus.
5.It is not actually a virus but a test File only to test the Activeness of ur Antivirus.

Hope your antivirus is working :) If any problem contact me at santhosh.shivanarayana@gmail.com

Plz give your feed back in Comments

How to delete Auto run virus

Go to Start -->Run, Then type cmd-->type cd\ press enter
type attrib -s -h auto run.*  press enter
open your C drive using address bar and delete auto run.txt file
Follow the above steps for remaining drives
After this Restart your computer now you can open your Drives normally

How to see hidden files

Due to some viruses we are not able to see hidden files to solve this problem follow the below steps:

Go to Start --> Run, then type regedit
Navigate to the registry folder HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\
CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced\Folder\Hidden\SHOWALL
Find a key called CheckedValue.
Double Click CheckedValue key and modify it to 1. This is to show all the hidden files.

Now you should be able to view all the hidden files, and also to alter its status from folder options.

Any Problem plz Contact me @ santhosh.shivanarayana@gmail.com

Enabling Task Manager

There are Two ways to Enable Task Manager

1. Click Start--> Run and type Regedit.exe
 Navigate to the following branch:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Policies\ System
 In the right-pane, delete the value named DisableTaskMgr
Close Regedit.exe
Restart your Computer


2. Click Start--> Run, type gpedit.msc
    Navigate to this branch:

User Configuration / Administrative Templates / System / Ctrl+Alt+Delete Options / Remove Task Manager

Double-click the Remove Task Manager option.
Set the policy to Not Configured.
Restart your Computer

How to Enable Regedit

Go to Run --> type gpedit.msc --->User Configuration ---> Administrative Templates --> system ----> double click on "" prevent access to registry editing tools ""
Either it may be 'Enabled' or 'Not Configured' If it is in Not Configured state just turn it to Disabled state. If it is in enabled state turn it to Not Configured/Disable state. Apply. Ok.
Restart your Computer

How to Disable Turn off Option and ALT+F4 option

START->RUN->REGEDIT->HKEY_CURRENT_USER->SOFTWARE->
MICROSOFT->WINDOWS->POLICIES->EXPLORER THEN GO TO RIGHT SIDE AND BY RIGHT CLICK OF YOUR MOUSE CREATE NEW DWORD VALUE WITH NAME NoClose and after creating click on it and give Value Data 1.

and Reboot your pc, now your Turn Off option is disabled. to Enable it again, go to that directory by regedit and simply delete that created NoClose OR Give value data 0 and Log Off Your User and Log in again. your Turn off Again Working

How TO Enable Control panel

start---->run--> (type the command gpedit.msc) " it show the group policy "
edit than go to local computer policy---->user canfiguration---->administrative templets---->control panel ---->prohibit access to the control panel-->click on the not configured and the apply and ok then onece refresh. and then open the control panel

How to repair windows xp

• Make sure the BIOS is set to boot from the CD (put the CD above the HD in the boot order) or else in the starting of computer press F8 and select boot from CD
• Insert the XP CD and boot from it
• When you see " To setup Windows XP now, press ENTER", go ahead and press ENTER
• You will now see an option to repair Windows by pressing "R". Do not select this option - it will only take you to the Recovery Console which is not what we want to do. Instead, choose to continue the installation
• When you see the license agreement, press F8 to agree
• On the next screen make sure your current XP installation is selected and then press "R" to repair XP
• At this point XP will begin to install on top of itself, replacing damaged, missing or altered system files. Follow the instructions on the remaining screens to complete the Repair Install. It will look very much like a normal (new) OS installation.

Note: If all goes well your repaired XP installation will remain iintact, keeping your personalized settings and installed programs as they originally were. Remember, choose the second repair option, not the first.