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Reset Windows Password

2012-09-26T23:42:00.002-07:00

Reset Windows Password

Forgot your administrator password? Don't panic, it happens to some other people too, and you have found the solution! The following instructions will show you step-by-step how to reset your local Windows password. This only works for local user accounts, however, not domain accounts.The password recovery tool from this page is written by Petter Nordahl-Hagen, and the original information, as well as the downloadable tool, can be found from his website. According to the author, this tool should work for Windows NT/2000/XP/Vista.
WARNING! Users who have EFS encrypted files on the Windows XP or Vista computers will loose access to the EFS encrypted files after recovery of your password!

Use this trick at your own risks
The tool to reset your password can be downloaded here.

I. Download the bootdisk:

Download the bootdisk, which includes the password recovery tool here. The file contains the ISO CD image.
Unzip (extract) the ISO file and burn it to a CD. Note that this is an ISO file, you must burn it to CD as an ISO image, not as a "data" file. If you're not sure how, see this article. Also, the image is bootable, you need to burn the image to a CD using the image burning feature; do not extract the contents of the ISO and burn them to the CD, you'll end up with a CD that can't boot!

II. Understanding the process:

You'll use the bootdisk created from the above steps to bootup your computer, which you want to reset your administrator password.
You'll be asked for things like: which drive is the boot drive, which path to the SAM file, etc.. but don't worry, details will be provided.
Once you have selected an account to reset the password, you'll need to type in a new password; however, it is highly recommended to use a BLANK password at this point, then you can change your password later in Windows.
Follow the prompts to the end. You'll need to save the changes at the end!

III. OK! Enough talking. Here are the steps:

Startup your computer with the bootdisk created above. You should see a welcome screen following with a prompt:
```
 boot:
```

Just wait, the bootup process will continute automatically. Then you should see a screen similar to this:

 =========================================================
 . Step ONE: Select disk where the Windows installation is
 =========================================================
 ....
 NT partitions found:
  1 :   /dev/sda1    4001MB  Boot
  2 :   /dev/sda5    2148MB
 
 Please select partition by number or
 a = show all partitions, d = automatically load new disk drivers
 m = manually load new disk drivers
 l = relist NTFS/FAT partitions, q = quit
 Select: [1]

Notice the last line "Select: [1]" which shows the [1] as default selection because the tool detected the bootup partition is [1]. This might be different on your own machine, so you should review the list shown under "NT partitions found:". The partition with the word "Boot" should be selected.

Hit Enter once you confirm the selection. You should see a similar screen as follows:

 =========================================================
 . Step TWO: Select PATH and registry files
 =========================================================
 ....
 What is the path to the registry directory? (relative to windows disk)
 [windows/system32/config] :

Notice the last line "[windows/system32/config]" which shows the default path. This was also detected by the tool. If the path is correct, hit Enter, or if you wish to enter a different path, enter it now then hit Enter.
Here are the paths for different versions of Windows:
- Windows NT 3.51: winnt35/system32/config
- Windows NT 4 and Windows 2000: winnt/system32/config
- Windows XP/2003 (and often Windows 2000 upgraded from Windows 98 or earlier): windows/system32/config

Once you hit "Enter", you should see the next screen similar to the following:

 -r--------    1 0        0          262144 Jan 12 18:01 SAM
 -r--------    1 0        0          262144 Jan 12 18:01 SECURITY
 -r--------    1 0        0          262144 Jan 12 18:01 default
 -r--------    1 0        0         8912896 Jan 12 18:01 software
 -r--------    1 0        0         2359296 Jan 12 18:01 system
 dr-x------    1 0        0            4096 Sep  8 11:37 systemprofile
 -r--------    1 0        0          262144 Sep  8 11:53 userdiff

 Select which part of registry to load, use predefined choices
 or list the files with space as delimiter
 1 - Password reset [sam system security]
 2 - RecoveryConsole parameters [software]
 q - quit - return to previous
 [1]

Hit "Enter" with the default option selected "[1]". Then ...:

 =========================================================
 . Step THREE: Password or registry edit
 =========================================================
 Loaded hives:   

   1 - Edit user data and passwords
   2 - Syskey status & change
   3 - RecoveryConsole settings
    - - -
   9 - Registry editor, now with full write support!
   q - Quit (you will be asked if there is something to save)

 What to do? [1] -> 1

Hit "Enter" with the default option selected "[1]". Then ...:

 ===== chntpw Edit User Info & Passwords ====

 RID: 01f4, Username: <Administrator>
 RID: 01f5, Username: <Guest>, *disabled or locked*
 RID: 03e8, Username: <HelpAssistant>, *disabled or locked*
 RID: 03eb, Username: <pnh>, *disabled or locked*
 RID: 03ea, Username: <SUPPORT_388945a0>, *disabled or locked*

 Select: ! - quit, . - list users, 0x<RID> - User with RID (hex)
 or simply enter the username to change: [Administrator]

Hit "Enter" with the default option selected "[Administrator]", or select another user account. Here you can enter the full user account surrounded by < and >, CASE-SENSITIVE, or enter the RID number (i.e. 0x1f4). Assuming you select the Administrator account, you should see the following screen:

 RID     : 0500 [01f4]
 Username: Administrator
 fullname: 
 comment : Built-in account for administering the computer/domain
 homedir : 

 Account bits: 0x0210 =
 [ ] Disabled        | [ ] Homedir req.    | [ ] Passwd not req. | 
 [ ] Temp. duplicate | [X] Normal account  | [ ] NMS account     | 
 [ ] Domain trust ac | [ ] Wks trust act.  | [ ] Srv trust act   | 
 [X] Pwd don't expir | [ ] Auto lockout    | [ ] (unknown 0x08)  | 
 [ ] (unknown 0x10)  | [ ] (unknown 0x20)  | [ ] (unknown 0x40)  | 

 Failed login count: 0, while max tries is: 0
 Total  login count: 3

 * = blank the password (This may work better than setting a new password!)
 Enter nothing to leave it unchanged
 Please enter new password: *

At the prompt "Please enter new password", Enter the * for a blank password (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!) then press Enter
```
 Please enter new password: *
 Blanking password!

 Do you really wish to change it? (y/n) [n] y
```

At the prompt, type in "y", then press Enter. Note that the default option is "n".

 Do you really wish to change it? (y/n) [n] y
 Changed!

 Select: ! - quit, . - list users, 0x - User with RID (hex)
 or simply enter the username to change: [Administrator] !

Enter the "!" to go back to the main menu. Then select "q" at the following menu to quit:

 <>========<> chntpw Main Interactive Menu <>========<>

 Loaded hives:   

   1 - Edit user data and passwords
   2 - Syskey status & change
   3 - RecoveryConsole settings
    - - -
   9 - Registry editor, now with full write support!
   q - Quit (you will be asked if there is something to save)

 What to do? [1] -> q

A prompt to save changes displays, enter "y" to save:

 =========================================================
 . Step FOUR: Writing back changes
 =========================================================
 About to write file(s) back! Do it? [n] : y

The changes are saved! You should see the following screen, press Enter, and reboot your computer.

 Writing  sam

 ***** EDIT COMPLETE *****

 You can try again if it somehow failed, or you selected wrong
 New run? [n] : n

source By : thecomputertricks.com

Convert Any Document or Web Page to PDF

2012-09-26T23:35:00.000-07:00

Somebody just told you that you need to have Adobe Acrobat (Writer) to create a PDF file? Guess what, you can get away from that pricey piece of software if you just need to convert some documents to pdf, without a need of fancy editing the pdf document.
Here's how. Thanks to the BullZip, who provides a Free Pdf printer. With this free tool, you can simply "print out" your document or webpage to a pdf file, just about the same way as you print it out to a printer.

You can visit BullZip.com for more information about the software.
Here the direct link to BullZip downloads page: Downloads

To get started, first follow the link above and download Free Pdf Printer from BullZip, then install it to your computer.
Once you're done, you might need to close the program (or the web browser) which you're currently viewing the document. This helps refreshing the list of available printers on your computer.
Once you get back to the document you want to convert, perform the same steps are you print out the document, i.e. File > Print ...
When you see the Print window pop-up, select "Bullzip PDF Printer" under "Printers", then click "OK".
BullZip PDF Printer will then start to analyze your document and display a new pop-up window, where you can direct it to the location you want to save the pdf file.
Follow the pop-up windows and.. hola! The PDF document is created!

Source By :/thecomputertricks.com

How to increase windows startup speed by windows registry configuration.

2012-06-20T00:02:00.001-07:00

When we start our computer it delays for a while to make your computer ready for action. You can reduce this delaying time completely by editing a simple thing in the registry setting. It will not harm your computer.

Note: This will boost in starting the windows. This will not increase the overall performance of your computer. The performance speed depends on the processor of your computer and the load it is taking on.

The process:

Step 1: Click Run and then type Regedit.

Step 2: Now you will notice a box will pop up. From there Select HKEY_CURRENT_USER. Then Select control Panel , then Desktop Folder.

Step 3: Now in the right hand side you will see lots of settings. From there select "Menu Show Delay". Double click on it and changed the default value "400" to "0".

Now you are done. You will notice a slight increase in the loading time when you start your computer. If you increase the value to "1000" then it will take longer time to show the Menu.

This tricks does not make any difference actually. But learning it is not a bad Idea. Is it?

Hope you have enjoyed it. Cheers :)

Source By : pctrick.com

How to convert Microsoft Power point ppt handouts to abode pdf handouts

2012-06-19T23:57:00.002-07:00

In this Post I am going to give you a quick tutorial to convert your PowerPoint slides into PDF in handouts.

Well it is really easy to convert Power point into PDF. First Open the power point slide, then click save as and choose PDF or XPS. Now if you save it, it the slides will be saved in PDF format.

But you will notice that in each page there is only 1 slide. You might want to several slides in a single page to print them easily.

How to save the slides as handouts in PDF format?

Step 1, Open The power point , click save as , choose PDF or XPS as mentioned above.

Step 2, Click Option before saving it as you can see it in the picture below.

Step 3, Then choose handouts from the option , also select the number of slides you want to add per page. You can also change other options.

Click OK and you will receive your power point handouts in PDF format. Hope this quick tip will help. Thanks for visiting my Blog :-)

Source By : pctrick.com

How to Secure a Wireless Network from Hackers

2011-10-05T21:42:00.000-07:00

he reason we secure a wireless network is to stop people from using the services of our network who don't have permission to utilize them. It is harder to secure a wireless network from hackers as compared to a classic wired network. This is due to the fact that a wireless network can be accessed anywhere inside the range of its antenna.

In order to secure a wireless network from hackers, we should take proper steps to save ourselves against security issues. If you don't secure a wireless network from hackers, you might end up without its service. The consequence might also include the utilization of our network to attack further networks. To secure a wireless network from hackers, you should follow these simple wireless networking tips:

1. Strategic antenna placement:

The first thing you have to do is to position the access point's antenna in a place which restricts the range of its signal to go further than the required area. You should not put the antenna close to a window because glass can't obstruct its signals. Place it in a central location of the building.

Use WEP:

WEP stands for Wireless encryption protocol. It's a customary technique for encrypting traffic on a wireless network. You should never skip it as that will allow hackers to get instant access to the traffic over a wireless network.

3. Change the SSID, disable the broadcast of SSID:

SSID stands for service set identifier. It is the recognition thread utilized by the wireless access point due to which the customers are capable of starting connections. For every wireless access point arranged, select an exclusive as well as unique SSID. Also, if it's attainable, hold back the broadcast of the SSID out over the antenna. It won\t appear in the listing of offered networks, while being able to provide services as usual.

4. Disable DHCP:

By doing this, the hackers will have to decode the TCP/IP parameters, subnet mask as well as the IP address in order to hack your wireless network.

5. Disable or modify SNMP settings:

Change the private as well as public community settings of SNMP. You can also just disable it. Otherwise the hackers will be able to utilize SNMP to get significant info regarding your wireless network.

6. Utilize access lists:

For additional security of your wireless network, and if your access point support this feature, employ an access list. An access list lets us determine precisely which machinery is permitted to attach to an access point. The access points which include the access list can employ trivial file transfer protocol (TFTP) now and then in order to download modernized lists to steer clear of hackers.

Source BY : www.computerfreetips.com

How to display the hidden settings of iPhone handsets

2011-10-05T21:38:00.000-07:00

Today tip will help you to play with your iPhone mobile phones using secrets codes. These secret codes will work on most of the Apple mobile handsets. You can display the hidden information of Apple handsets and troubleshoot the routine problems with the help of these codes.

Follow the list of latest Apple codes list:

Code Action

*#06# To display the IMEI Number of the mobile

*225# Use to display the balance detail of postpaid number

*#43# Use to verify if call waiting is enabled

*#61# Verify the number for unanswered calls

*#62# Verify the number for call forwarding if no service is available.

*#67# Verify the number for call forwarding if phone is busy

*#646# Use to display the minute detail of postpaid number

*777# Use to display the balance detail of prepaid number

*3001#12345#* Display the iphone inner settings

*#33# To verify whether barring is enabled or disabled for outgoing

*#21# To display the settings for your call forwarding

How to disable enable the usage of USB storage devices

2011-10-01T22:11:00.000-07:00

USB drives (also known as flash drive, mobile disk or pen drive) are becoming the most popular standard in these days to store and move data. USB support is available in PCs of both IBM-compatible and Apple computers. USB port support hot plugging and plug & play. The USB allows up to 127 devices to be connected to the bus via a single port. The driver name "usbstor.sys" is used to communicate any USB drives to the operating system.

USB drives are indeed very useful in these days but a user can easily use to transfer any confidential information from your computer to others and can also upload viruses affected files to your computer by accidentally or deliberately. But you can prevent the users to connect any USB drives in the computer by disabling the ability of "usbstor.sys" (USB driver) to load in system. It will block the USB storage devices only and your system USB keyboard, mouse and others USB devices will work properly.

Perform the following steps to block the USB storage devices:

To edit this feature, you will need to be logged into your computer with administrative rights.
- First click on Start button to open "Run" and type "regedit" then press Ok button to open the Registry Editor.
In registry editor locate the given path:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\USBSTOR

Here select the "USBSTOR" folder and in right side of the registry editor panel find the value with name "Start".

Double click on "Start" and then set its value 4 under "Value data" section.

Close the Registry editor and restart your computer for changes to apply.

Now when you want to restore the default setting, open the Registry Editor and set its value back to 3.

Now again close the Registry editor and restart your computer for changes to apply.

source By : www.computeronlinetips.com

How to quickly repair your Mobile Phone dropped in water

2011-10-01T21:54:00.000-07:00

Many of you get your mobile phone wet by one way or another. You worry as you mistakenly drop your mobile phone in water. It can also get wet if you are out in a heavy rain. However, there is no need to panic. It is possible to save your wet mobile phone by quickly repairing it. In order to save your mobile phone from water damage, you can consider these easy and simple solutions:

Act rapidly :

The first thing you have to do in order to save your wet mobile phone is to act rapidly. Quickly remove all the detachable parts as well as covers possible such as the back cover, battery, the SIM card, memory card etc. Next, take a piece of cloth or a tissue paper to wipe the excess water you are able to notice within the mobile phone. Make sure that you dry it completely. If you don' t do this, the water inside the mobile phone will begin to evaporate and gather in places which will be difficult to reach.

This will save your wet mobile phone and it will start working if it was under water for just a little while.

Using a hairdryer :
Take a hairdryer and begin drying the mobile phone while giving more consideration to the place where the battery is located. The battery housing usually consists of tiny holes to let in air (so giving more space for water) inside the mobile phone.
Make sure that you are not holding the hairdryer very near to the mobile phone. Keeping it too close to the mobile phone may harm the electrical mechanism of the mobile phone. Keep on drying the mobile phone from a safe distance for about twenty to thirty minutes.

If solution number 1 and solution number 2 don't work, try solution number 3.

Drying for a long time:
Take off the covers as well as battery from the mobile phone. Put the phone in a dry as well as warm place to let the water inside the phone evaporate gradually from the little holes in the mobile phone.

How to create a shortcut for locking the Computer Screen in Windows 7

2011-10-01T20:00:00.000-07:00

There are many ways in which you can lock the computer screen. The most popular as well as the fastest way to lock it is to use a keyboard shortcut. The keyboard shortcut used to lock the computer screen is Win+L. A few of us choose to utilize the mouse to lock it. And of course many people like to use both the options.

There is another method in which we can lock the computer screen. It is to create a shortcut for locking the computer screen in Windows 7. You can create a shortcut for locking the computer screen in Windows 7, XP and Vista too. Follow these steps in order to create a shortcut for locking the computer screen in Windows 7 as well as other editions:

Right-click on the desktop where you would like to create the shortcut.
Point to New.

Click on Shortcut from the menu.

Type in this text in the shortcut textbox. (This text will work for Windows XP as well even though the screen will be different)

rundll32.exe user32.dll, LockWorkStation

Click on the Next button.

Type in a name for your shortcut.
Click on the Finish button.
You have successfully created a shortcut to lock your workstation. Just click on the shortcut whenever you want to lock the computer screen.

www.computerfreetips.com

How to make Word 2007 always save in 2003 format?

2011-05-28T22:30:00.000-07:00

Not everyone has updated to the 2007 edition of Microsoft Office. So a problem arises as we send them a Word 2007 document without converting it into 2003 format. However, it is possible to make Word 2007 always save in 2003 format. By changing a few settings, we can make Word 2007 always save in 2003 format automatically. This can save our time as we won’t have to convert a document each time we have to send one. Follow these steps to make Word 2007 always save in 2003 format:

1. Open Word 2007.

2. Click on the Office button.

3. Click on the Word Options button at the bottom.

4. The Word Options dialog box will appear.

5. Select the Save tab.

6. Select “Word 97-2003 Document” from the menu of “Save files in this format”.

7. Click on the OK button.

After this you will never have to worry about mistakenly sending the incorrect format of Microsoft Word 2007 to anyone. The same procedure can be used to change the settings of Microsoft Excel 2007.

source by : www.computerfreetips.com/

QuickTip-How to format a Word document to remove all hyperlinks

2011-05-06T19:29:00.000-07:00

It is not so easy to remove hyperlinks in a word document which you have created by copying the contents from a website. If you don’t know the real trick you will have to go to every single hyperlink on the document and manually remove them. Instead of that till now I have been doing another trick by pasting the content copied from the HTML page to a notepad and then again copy it from the notepad to a word document. By doing that it’s indeed removing the hyperlinks but you are also losing the complete formatting (Text formatting is so important otherwise you will have to format the text again).

So here is a simple word trick to remove all the Hyperlinks from a word document using a shortcut key.
How to do this trick?

Select the complete content on the word documents by pressing CTRL+A keys and then pressCTRL+SHIFT+F9 key will remove the complete hyperlinks found on that particular document.

Easy right? By knowing this simple trick can save your lot of time.

Let us know if it was helpful.

Link By : http://www.hackstacks.com

Outlook opens very slowly

2011-01-30T19:09:00.000-08:00

This is often caused by a corrupt OST file (cache). The quickest fix is to create a new profile:
Control Panel > Mail > Show Profiles > Add
If this solves the problem, then set the new profile as default.

Archive folders will have to be added to the new profile in Outlook:
File > Data File Management > Add

www.COMPUTERCRAFT.com

The security log on this system is full. Only administrators can log on to fix the problem.

2011-01-30T19:01:00.000-08:00

In XP or in Windows Server 2003 when a user who is not a member of the Administrator Group tries to login, they receive this error message: The security log on this system is full. Only administrators can log on to fix the problem.

To solve this problem:

Login to the local machine as the Administrator or as a user who is a member of the Administrator Group.
START > CONTROL PANEL > ADMINISTRATIVE TOOLS > EVENT MANAGER
(To see ADMINISTRATIVE TOOLS, you might need to click on SWITCH TO CLASSIC VIEW in the upper left of CONTROL PANEL.)
In the left pane, right click on SECURITY and then select CLEAR ALL EVENTS.
(SAVE only if you want a copy of the logs.)

To prevent the problem from happening :

In the left paneof EVENT VIEWER, right click on SECURITY and then select PROPERTIES.
Change WHEN MAXIMUM LOG SIZE IS REACHED to OVERWRITE EVENTS AS NEEDED.

Download Your Facebook Profile To Your Computer to save

2010-12-04T21:26:00.000-08:00

Did you know that you can download your Facebook profile? Would you like to keep a record of what you have done on Facebook. Other peoples comments and messages to you, even all the pictures you have uploaded and shared. This information is readily available to you and all you have to do is download your Facebook profile.

In this tutorial I will show you how to download your entire Facebook profile to your computer and save it for later. Bare in mind that you will have to do this on a regular basis if you are continually updating your profile with new information.

Download Your Facebook Profile To Your Computer to save

1. Go to your Facebook account and sign in.

2. Click on the small drop down arrow next to the account link.

3. A menu will appear. Choose account settings from the menu. See the screen shot below.

4. Now you are in your Facebook account settings.

5. Make sure you are on the settings tab as shown below.

6. Scroll down the page until you see a heading Download Your Information. See the screen shot below.

7. The next page will appear. Click on the download button.

8. A message will appear. You will receive an email when your archive is ready for download.

When you receive your email you can unzip the package and open a copy of your Facebook profile in an Internet browser window.

Source BY : tips4pc

How To Copy a DVD to a Computer Hard Drive

2010-12-02T03:28:00.000-08:00

Digital copies of movies are the way to go now. There is little wonder why Blockbuster is struggling. Everyone would like to have a soft copy of their favorite movies on their computer hard drive. It makes it easy to browse your many movies when they are all on one small portable storage device. For you to copy or transfer a file, from a DVD to an electronic gadget, you must first copy the DVD onto your computer. We also want to let you know that we are in no way condoning the act of pirating DVDs. This guide is made for DVDs you own already.

Decrypting or Ripping the DVD

Unless you have a pirated copy, chances are that the DVD is protected. You will have to decrypt it. To decrypt it, you need software like AndyDVD. This software is not free though. If you don't want to spend money on this kind software, then you can achieve the same task with DVDRip, DVD43, or RipIt4Me. These are free but each individual software package may not work for all DVDs. In our experience, one of these software packages will be able to do the job though. After you have a DVD Decrypting software, it should be pretty easy to rip the DVD to the hard drive.

DVD Conversion

DVD43/DVDRip/RipIt4Me are only for decryption of the DVD. To convert the file to a good format, you will need another piece of software. One such software that we have found to be very useful is Handbrake. This software can help to convert files to suitable file types for iPods / iPhones, smartphones, and other portable devices. After you have the DVD decrypted and on the hard drive, you will want to start up Handbrake. From HandBrake, you can convert to many formats including AVI and mpeg-4. You can also shrink the file down to a smaller size as well which is helpful for many reasons.

The whole process of decrypting and transferring probably takes a decent amount of time, like 3 to 5 hours, give or take. This is dependant on your hardware. Another thing to keep in mind is that a ripped DVD will take up a lot of hard drive space. So, if you plan to rip your whole library, you will need a decent sized hard drive. Now you know how to copy from the DVD to the computer hard drive.

What to look for when buying a new computer

2010-12-02T03:25:00.000-08:00

The time often comes when an old computer just isn't cutting it anymore and you need a new pc. The following guide will help you to answer the questions of what you need, what do I upgrade, and more. Also, you may be interested in reading our comprehensive guide to speed up your computer before purchasing a new PC if you would like save money and keep your current computer.

The first thing you need to consider is what you will be doing with the computer. Are you a gamer? Will you be running hardware intensive programs like autocad, animation/design programs that need to render, etc? Will you need to store a lot of video, pictures, and music? Will this be a media center PC? Or will this computer just be a basic email, websurfing, and word processing machine? Answers to all of these questions can help you decide what hardware you need.

Processor

This is the brain of your computer. The two most common brands are Intel and AMD right now. For most people, the processor an average new computer comes with is fine for you. However, if you will be gaming, rendering, or using your computer as a media pc, you may want to upgrade this processor. Right now, Intel makes a better processor for the price. I would recommend a higher speed, multi-core processor if you will be doing any of the cpu intense activities listed above.

Memory (RAM)

This is one area of the computer I would recommend upgrading no matter what you are planning to do with your pc. Many computer slow downs can be attributed to a lack of RAM. I would recommend at least 2 Gigs for Vista and Windows 7. If you can afford to go higher, this is one area I would suggest doing so. It will be worth it in the long run because it will keep your computer running faster longer. Also, before buying a new computer, you may want to ask yourself if a simple memory upgrade will solve your computer slowness.

Video Card

Most average computers don't come with a video card and just come with an onboard graphics card. These are fine for most users. However, if you are a gamer, you will want a video card for sure. New video cards change often and the top of the line cards are very expensive. I would recommend getting something in the middle unless money is not an option. Usually the best price for performance will be in the 150-250 dollar range. Make sure you read reviews of the card before deciding which one to go with.

Hard Disk

The speed of most hard drives is comparable across the board. There are higher end hard drives that are faster, but I have not found these to be worth the price for most people. One exception is if you are planning on running a server. For most people, only the hard disk size is any issue. If you do a lot of multi-media stuff such as taking pictures, downloading or taking video, storing music, etc, you will want to consider a larger hard drive or even a second hard drive. Also, if your new computer is going to be a media pc, you will also want a large hard disk. The reason for this is because recording TV, especially HDTV, takes up a whole lot of hard drive space. You can also check out our hard drive buying guide for more detailed information.

Popular Computer Companies

For most people a basic Dell, IBM, Lenovo, Sony, or HP will be fine. If you are really into design and art, an Apple may be good for you. Dell and Alienware make great gaming computers if you are looking for that. Also, another option is to build a computer yourself. I would only recommend doing this if you know what you are doing and you need a higher end computer. It is not worth building a computer just to check email and browse the web.

Security Tips

2010-12-01T08:32:00.000-08:00

How to Protect Your Computer From Viruses

With millions of computer users browsing the web at any given time, there are plenty of targets for malicious coders. While computer experts don’t always know why coders choose to build harmful computer programs, the fact is that it happens all the time. Computer viruses can steal personal information, interfere with normal operations, attract spam and even shut down your computer’s hard drive. Protecting your computer is critical for browsing success.

Start With the Basics

Most computer systems come with security features already in place. For example, the Windows operating system is packaged with Microsoft Windows Security Center. When you first open, boot up and register a new computer, you should make sure that this program is functioning. It will give basic protection against spyware, viruses and malware. In addition, a basic firewall is built into this program, providing additional protection and stops for potentially harmful programs. Upon activation, don’t be surprised if your security system needs immediate updating. Software that protects your computer needs regular and consistent updating to stay useful. Viruses are constantly being generated and the several-month lag between when your computer was made and when you first started using it can mean that the database the security system is loaded with is severely out-of-date.

Upgrade to Meet Your Needs

Many people operate computers for a long time with only basic protection in place. However, heavy computer users or those who have risky browsing habits can sometimes benefit from upgrading their virus, spyware and malware protection, as well as using a fuller-featured firewall; this is especially important if you use a networked computer system. Basic or free virus protection will still scan and update for viruses. Paid programs, however, offer more features, including ease-of-use and convenience features. The most important thing is to verify the publisher and make sure you are getting what is promised. Most well-known virus protection programs, such as AVG and Norton Security, have reviews available to help you make your choice.

Learn About Spyware Risks

Spyware creates risks that many computer users are not aware of. If you are only protecting against viruses, you could be leaving your computer open to damage. Most people are familiar with spyware that initiates and attracts annoying ad programs. Spyware, however, can be much more malicious as well. Your shopping habits can be tracked by spyware. While not exactly harmful, some people consider this a breach of privacy. The worst spyware programs interfere with normal operations and can even track what you type, sending personal information to people who want to steal your identity. Some spyware redirects your browser to different web addresses, increasing your risks of virus infection and fraud.

How Viruses Work

The main difference between spyware and viruses is how they are spread. A virus reproduces itself and attaches to any document that the computer sends, while spyware can be stored as a cookie or tracking code. A virus is most often found traveling with a piece of computer software, such as a document, picture or piece of music. When dealing with email, it is necessary to open an attachment to become infected, indicating that, in most cases, the computer user must somehow invite the malicious software to replicate on their system. Of course, most people have no idea it is there or what is happening. Some of the sneakiest and most harmful viruses actually masquerade as virus protection software, making them extremely hard to detect. Because of this, it’s crucial to be familiar with your particular virus protection program and know what it looks like and what the normal scripts and prompts are during operation. Viruses do some of the same things that spyware does; they just accomplish it differently. An active virus can steal personal information, generate ads or shut down your system, including the very virus protection programs that can fix the issue.

Take Steps For Protection

Like anything, the best way to protect against viruses is to be educated. Become familiar with what malicious software may look like. If you get an email or are asked to download a file that you don’t recognize or looks suspicious, do your homework. Research virus protection, spyware, malware and firewall programs and use them to their fullest capacity. Set the software to update and scan automatically to make sure that the system is constantly monitored. In addition, regularly check on the databases published by various virus protection services; many will provide lists of symptoms and risks, as well as the standard way the file gains access for no cost to the public.

How to Print a Booklet in MS Word 2007

2010-11-30T08:16:00.000-08:00

A very useful feature of Office 2007 is to print a booklet in Word 2007. The feature to print a booklet in Word 2007 lets you make a booklet from an old or new document before printing it. After you finish making the document, you can use this feature to speedily arrange it in a booklet style. You can arrange it in a booklet with folded-over even number of pages. You can later print a booklet in Word 2007. Follow these steps in order to print a booklet in Word 2007:

Open a new or already existing Word 2007 document.

Select the "Page Layout" tab.

Click on the arrow situated at the bottom of the "Page Setup" group.

The Page Setup windows pane will appear. From the Margins tab, choose "Book Fold" from the menu in front of "Multiple pages".

Choose the number of pages that you would like to include in the booklet from the menu in front of "Sheets per booklet".

Click on the "OK" button.

Click on the "Office" button.

Choose "Print" and click on "Print Preview" from the right hand side of the menu. From here you can see if the layout is all right and that the order of the pages is correct.

Click on the "Printer" icon on the far left of the Print Preview tab.

Click on the "OK" button.

How to display the hidden settings of iPhone handsets

2010-11-30T08:13:00.000-08:00

today tip will help you to play with your iPhone mobile phones using secrets codes. These secret codes will work on most of the Apple mobile handsets. You can display the hidden information of Apple handsets and troubleshoot the routine problems with the help of these codes.

Follow the list of latest Apple codes list:

Code Action

*#06# To display the IMEI Number of the mobile

*225# Use to display the balance detail of postpaid number

*#43# Use to verify if call waiting is enabled

*#61# Verify the number for unanswered calls

*#62# Verify the number for call forwarding if no service is available.

*#67# Verify the number for call forwarding if phone is busy

*#646# Use to display the minute detail of postpaid number

*777# Use to display the balance detail of prepaid number

*3001#12345#* Display the iphone inner settings

*#33# To verify whether barring is enabled or disabled for outgoing

*#21# To display the settings for your call forwarding

How to Convert PowerPoint to Word in Office 2007

2010-11-30T08:09:00.000-08:00

Usually when we want to create a presentation, we prefer PowerPoint 2007 over Word 2007. This is because it is easier to create a presentation in PowerPoint 2007. It is also preferred by the users because it catches the attention of the viewers and conveys the message more efficiently. But sometimes we are bound to give the presentation in Word. In that case, we can convert PowerPoint to Word in Office 2007. The presentation slides of PowerPoint are turned into thumbnails. There is more space for text. It is very easy to convert PowerPoint to Word in Office 2007. Follow these simple steps to convert PowerPoint to Word in Office 2007.

Click on the "Office" button on the top left corner of PowerPoint.

Click on "Publish" on the left hand side of the menu.

Click on "Create Handouts in Microsoft Office Word" from the resulting menu.

The "Send to Microsoft Office Word" dialog box will become visible. Select from the list of given page layouts you need for the document on Word.

Choose "Paste link" or "Paste" under “Add slides to Microsoft Office Word document” at the bottom of this dialog box.

Press on the OK button.

Word 2007 will open automatically which will consist of the PowerPoint slides in Word. If you have chosen the option "Paste," your PowerPoint slide will turn into Word just as it is. If you make alterations to the PowerPoint presentation later, they won’t be visible in the document on Word. However, if you choose "Paste Link," your Word document will be up to date according to the PowerPoint slide presentation.

Source By : computerfreetips

Block a website address from opening in windows

2010-11-30T08:06:00.000-08:00

want to block access to particular websites on their system. Parents can block certain websites from their younger ones. It can also be used in schools and colleges etc….

Well this trick is very simple and it goes this way.

1. Open MyComputer

2. Browse C: (or your Operating system drive)

3. Browse Windows –>System32–>drivers–>etc

so the Location will be C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\etc

In the etc folder look for the file hosts

4. Open this file hosts with notepad.

5. Locate the line 127.0.0.1 localhost

6. To block www.google.com for example, just add this text under

127.0.0.1 localhost:
127.0.0.1 www.google.com
127.0.0.1 www.yahoo.com

7. Save the file.

In this way add any number of sites you want, however you will need to prefix it with “127.0.0.1″.

Note: This blocks the website from opening in any browser whether it is Mozilla Firefox or Internet Explorer

Basic network troubleshooting.

2010-11-29T01:14:00.000-08:00

Issue:

Basic network troubleshooting.

Cause:

If a computer is unable to connect to a network or see other computers on a network, it may be necessary to troubleshoot the network. A network may not work because of any of the below reasons.

Network card not connected properly.
Bad network card drivers or software settings.
Firewall preventing computers from seeing each other.
Connection related issues.
Bad network hardware.

Solution:

Because of the large variety of network configurations, operating systems, setup, etc... not all of the below information may apply to your network or operating system. If your computer is connected to a company or large network, or you are not the administrator of the network, it is recommended that if you are unable to resolve your issues after following the below recommendations that you contact the network administrator or company representative.
Note: If you are being prompted for a Network password and do not know the password, Computer Hope is unable to assist users with obtaining a new or finding out the old password.

Verify connections / LEDs

Verify that the network cable is properly connected to the back of the computer. In addition, when checking the connection of the network cable, ensure that the LEDs on the network are properly illuminated. For example, a network card with a solid green LED or light usually indicates that the card is either connected or receiving a signal. Note: generally, when the green light is flashing, this is an indication of data being sent or received.

If, however, the card does not have any lights or has orange or red lights, it is possible that either the card is bad, the card is not connected properly, or that the card is not receiving a signal from the network.

If you are on a small or local network and have the capability of checking a hub or switch, verify that the cables are properly connected and that the hub or switch has power.

Adapter resources

Ensure that if this is a new network card being installed into the computer that the card's resources are properly set and/or are not conflicting with any hardware in the computer.

Users who are using Windows 95, 98, ME, 2000 or XP, verify that Device Manager has no conflicts or errors. Additional help and information about Device Manager and resources can be found on our Device Manager page.

Adapter functionality

Verify that the network card is capable of pinging or seeing itself by using the ping command. Windows / MS-DOS users ping the computer from a MS-DOS prompt. Unix / Linux variant users ping the computer from the shell.

To ping the card or the localhost, type either

ping 127.0.0.1

ping localhost

This should show a listing of replies from the network card. If you receive an error or if the transmission failed, it is likely that either the network card is not physically installed into the computer correctly, or that the card is bad.

Protocol

Verify that the correct protocols are installed on the computer. Most networks today will utilize TCP/IP, but may also utilize or require IPX/SPX and NetBEUI.

Additional information and help with installing and reinstalling a network protocol can be found on document CH000470.

When the TCP/IP protocol is installed, unless a DNS server or other computer assigns the IPX address, the user must specify an IP address as well as a Subnet Mask. To do this, follow the below instructions.

Click Start / Settings / Control Panel
Double-click the Network icon
Within the configuration tab double-click the TCP/IP protocol icon. Note: Do not click on the PPP or Dial-Up adapter, click on the network card adapter.
In the TCP/IP properties click the IP address tab
Select the option to specify an IP address
Enter the IP address and Subnet Mask address, an example of such an address could be:

IP Address: 102.55.92.1
Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.192
When specifying these values, the computers on the network must all have the same Subnet Mask and have a different IP Address. For example, when using the above values on one computer you would want to use an IP address of 102.55.92.2 on another computer and then specify the same Subnet Mask.

Firewall

If your computer network utilizes a firewall, ensure that all ports required are open. If possible, close the firewall software program or disconnect the computer from the firewall to ensure it is not causing the problem.

Additional time

In some cases it may take a computer some additional time to detect or see the network. If after booting the computer you are unable to see the network, give the computer 2-3 minutes to detect the network. Windows users may also want to try pressing the F5 (refresh) key when in Network Neighborhood to refresh the network connections and possibly detect the network.

Additional troubleshooting

If after following or verifying the above recommendations you are still unable to connect or see the network, attempt one or more of the below recommendations.

If you have installed or are using TCP/IP as your protocol you can attempt to ping another computer's IP address to verify if the computer is able to send and receive data. To do this, Windows or MS-DOS users must be at a prompt and Linux / Unix variant users must open or be at a shell.

Once at the prompt assuming, that the address of the computer you wish to attempt to ping is 102.55.92.2, you would type:

ping 102.55.92.2

If you receive a response back from this address (and it is a different computer), this demonstrates that the computer is communicating over the network. If you are still unable to connect or see the network, it is possible that other issues may be present.

Another method of determining network issues is to use the tracert command if you are a MS-DOS or Windows user or the traceroute command if you are a Linux / Unix variant user. To use this command you must be at the command prompt or shell.

Once at the prompt, assuming that the address is again 102.55.92.2, type:

tracert 102.55.92.2

traceroute 102.55.92.2

This should begin listing the hops between the computer and network devices. When the connection fails, determine which device is causing the issue by reviewing the traceroute listing.

Source By : computerhope

Top 10 Twitter tips and tricks

2010-11-29T00:41:00.000-08:00

Below is a listing of our top 10 favorite Twitter tips and tricks. These tips will help make your Twitter experience more enjoyable and can help increase your followers.
Customize

Change your profile picture. Use a picture of yourself to make it seem more personalized if this is your personal Twitter account.
Utilize as much of the 160-character limit Twitter BIO space allows. Include keywords your followers or potential followers may be searching for.
Create your own background image. However, do not make the image too much like an ad or sales pitch. The background image must be less than 800k and we recommend a size of 1600x1200 for a large image or smaller if you plan on tiling the image or just having it on the left-hand side. Finally, keep in mind that smaller resolutions and monitor sizes will hide much of the background.

Third-party tools

Take advantage of the hundreds of different third-party online tools and services that enhance your Twitter experience. Below are a few of our favorites.

TwitPic - Take advantage of TwitPic to post pictures on your tweets. If you want to post pictures while away from the computer, use the Twitterific app.
Qwitter - Great service that sends an e-mail any time someone unsubscribes from your Twitter profile and mentions a possible Twitter post you made that may have caused them to leave.
Manageflitter - Fantastic site for managing your followers and getting an easy to read overview of people not following you back, quiet users, and inactive users.
SocialOomph - Another great service with a collection of free Twitter tools including the ability to schedule when a tweets gets posted.
Tweetbeat - An excellent site that takes the trending topics on Twitter and gives you a clearer explanation of present and past trending topics.
Twitter Fan Wiki Apps - Finally, this wiki has a listing of several hundred different Twitter applications and tools for users wanting more.

Use Twitter search

Take full advantage of the Twitter search tool. Below are just a few tips that can help improve your search capabilities on Twitter.

Search for your website or blog URL and see if others are mentioning your page.
Search for anything near you by adding near:"city state". For example, typing near:"Salt lake city Utah" clubwould return current tweets that have happened in Salt Lake City, Utah with the keyword club in them.
Find people who you may enjoy following by searching for keywords that interested you.
If you do not want tweets with links add ? -filter:links at the end of your search query.
Need more options, use the Advanced Twitter search.
Any time you get excellent results click the "Save this search" button to save that search. These searches can then be found under "Saved Searches" on the right-hand part of your profile on the old Twitter interface or under the "Searches" tab next to your timeline on the new Twitter interface.

Followers

Engage followers.
Do not follow too many people. No one is going to follow someone who is following thousands of people but only has 10 followers.
Retweet interesting posts.
Retweet and participate in conversations with people with a lot of followers.
Realize it is impossible for anyone to read every tweet.
When first joining do not follow hundreds of people, doing this may mark you as a bot.

Create useful and interesting tweets

Try making all your tweets informative, useful, or funny.
Do not post mundane posts, e.g. eating a bowl of cereal.
Add hastags to your tweets. For example, if your tweet is about computers, consider adding #computer in the tweet.
Tweet frequently. No one is going to follow someone they do not know who has not tweeted in months. Try at the very least to tweet a few times a week or daily if you can manage.
Do not whine or complain. Everyone will unfollow anyone who constantly whines or complains.
Try making your valuable tweets during the times people will most likely see them.
Keep some space available in your tweet in case someone retweets your post.
Use special characters in your tweets.

Know the lingo

Know the Twitter lingo, these are just a few examples: @reply, Direct Message (DM), Follower, Hashtag,Retweet (RT), Trending Topics, and Tweet. See the Twitter description for a full listing of Twitter terms and Lingo and related terms.

Follow the masters

Following a few of the masters of Twitter and Social Networking will give you an understanding of how to tweet better, posts to RT, and inspiration for tweets of your own. Below are the top ten Twitters we recommend following.

@GuyKawasaki
@Scobleizer
@jeffbullas
@briansolis
@tonyrobbins
@kevinrose
@timoreilly
@donttrythis
@zappos
@brainpicker

Twitaholic - A full listing of the top users on Twitter based off Followers. This is a terrific service to find and follow the top users and possibly incorporate some of the ideas they are doing on their account.

Many of the first few hundred people are celebrities on Twitaholic, if they do not interest you skip the first page.
Create and use lists

Twitter lists are an excellent method of filtering filter through the people you follow. To create a list, click the Lists link and then Create a list. After creating a list visit the persons profile page you wish to add and click the list icon, as shown in the picture to the right. Our Computers and Tech list is an example of a public list we created.

Go Mobile

Apple iPhones, Blackberry phones, Android phones, Windows phone 7 phones, and most of the other smart phones have Twitter applications. Take full advantage of these applications. For users who do not have smart phones Twitter also has extensive support for SMS, which can send tweets over a text message.

Advertise

Mention your Twitter page as many places as you can, e.g. your business card, e-mail signatures, web page, blog, Facebook, etc.
Create a tweet button or at least your Twitter name on your pages, similar to the below example

Source By : computerhope

Top 10 Facebook tips

2010-11-29T00:32:00.000-08:00

Below is a listing of our top 10 tips for the popular social networking website Facebook.
Hide users, games, polls, etc.

It quickly gets annoying seeing some users posts, game invites, polls, etc. Hovering your mouse to the right of the post and clicking the Hide button as shown below can hide any post. Once this button is pressed you'll be prompted with the option to hide that user or in the case of a Facebook application the option to hide that application from ever showing up on your profile.

To unhide someone or unblock an application click the Edit Options link in the bottom right corner of the news feed as shown below.

Greasemonkey and FB Purity

Although Facebook does not allow the ability to hide friends getting new friends messages, friends becoming fans of something, and some application messages they can still be hidden with browser add-ons. If you're running Mozilla Firefox, Chrome, Opera, or Safari we suggest installing the Facebook Purity add-on.

Update your privacy settings

Click Account in the top right corner of the Facebook window and then click Privacy settings to adjust who is capable of seeing what on your Facebook profile. We highly recommend going through all the privacy settings to verify your privacy is properly protected.

Anything that is not set to friends only or friends of friends can be seen by anyone searching on the Internet. Below is a few things we recommend for most users.

Under Search in Privacy settings uncheck Public Search Results. This will prevent users from finding your account and profile picture in search results such as Google
Under Application settings, make sure you're only allowing applications you want to have access to your information. Applications that you grant rights to can have access to your Facebook profile information.

If you're curious to see how a program or web page connect to the Facebook API can see your profile seeTip135.

Use the Facebook top bar for navigation

Knowing how to properly navigate is vital if you want to get the most out of Facebook. Below is a brief description of each of the available options in the top bar as shown above.

Home (facebook logo) - Clicking this logo will take you to your wall (News Feed) that shows all friends recent posts.

Friend requests - If any friend requests are waiting to be approved this icon will show a notification of how many friends are waiting for approval. This icon can also be clicked when you want to view any friend recommendations or search for friends on Facebook.

Messages - This section allows you to send and receive private messages between one or more people you're friends with.

Notifications - Any time a friend or Facebook application creates a new post you'll be notified in this section. Clicking this icon will show all recent notifications. If you wish to change what is capable of sending you notifications including any Facebook applications or games click the See All Notifications link at the bottom and check or uncheck what you want to be notified on.

Search - Finally, the search box in Facebook can be a powerful tool that can be used to quickly find any current friends or people on Facebook. In addition searching for terms such as a company name, product, sports team, music band, etc. will find fan pages and groups that can be joined.

Modify your account notifications

Keep your e-mail and/or your cell phone clean by updating or eliminate Facebook notifications or keep more up-to-date by adding new notifications. Facebook notifications can be added and removed by clicking Accountlink in the top right corner, then Account Settings, and then clicking the Notifications tab.

Top 10 unknown Google tricks

2010-11-29T00:27:00.000-08:00

Below is a list of our top ten Google tricks many users don't know about.

Definitions - Pull up the definition of the word by typing define followed by the word you want the definition for. For example, typing: define bravura would display the definition of that word.
Local search - Visit Google Local enter the area you want to search and the keyword of the place you want to find. For example, typing: restaurant at the above link would display local restaurants.
Phone number lookup - Enter a full phone number with area code to display the name and address associated with that phone number.
Find weather - Type weather followed by a zip code or city and state to display current weather conditions and forecasts for upcoming days.
Track airline flight - Enter the airline and flight number to display the status of an airline flight and it's arrival time. For example, type: delta 123 to display this flight information if available.
Track packages - Enter a UPS, FedEx or USPS tracking number to get a direct link to track your packages.
Pages linked to you - See what other web pages are linking to your website or blog by typing link: followed by your URL. For example, typing link:http://www.computerhope.com displays all pages linking to Computer Hope.
Find PDF results only - Add filetype: to your search to display results that only match a certain file type. For example, if you wanted to display PDF results only type: "dell xps" filetype:pdf -- this is a great way to find online manuals.
Calculator - Use the Google Search engine as a calculator by typing a math problem in the search. For example, typing: 100 + 200 would display results as 300.
Stocks - Quickly get to a stock quote price, chart, and related links by typing the stock symbol in Google. For example, typing: msft will display the stock information for Microsoft.