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How to Make Money Selling Your Photos Online.

2011-07-12T12:30:00.000+01:00

If you have a knack for photography, you can turn your passion into profits. There are many businesses, organization, and resources online who want to buy quality photos. Let’s take a look at how you can make money selling your photos online.
Research Your Niche
Most photographers have a niche. There is a specific type of subject or photograph you like to take. For example, Ansell Adams was a nature photographer. He took many popular photographs of America’s National Parks, including several notable ones at Yosemite. Other photographers specialize in portraits, cars, animals…the list goes on and on.
If you have a specialty, spend some time researching people, organizations, websites, businesses and publications that may need your specialty photos. For example, travel websites and publications are often looking for travel photographs.
Sell to Stock Photo Sites or Create Your Own
Stock photo sites are always an easy way to make money. You simply create a profile, upload your photo and you get paid every time someone downloads your photo. Some stock photo sites pay more than others. Do your research so you know what to expect.
You can also create your own stock photo site that caters to your niche. Generally when you sell photos on a stock photo website you sell limited rights to publish the image. This means that the customer can buy the photo at a reduced rate. However, you can also sell the photo an unlimited number of times. It’s not unheard of for a stock photo to have been purchased several thousand times.
Market to Website Designers and Graphic Designers
Partnerships or relationships with designers in your niche can be a great way to make extra money. For example, a website designer that caters to the health and wellness industry may be in regular need for photos and images for their client’s websites. Likewise a graphic designer tends to work with stock images when creating headers and simple graphics. Your photographs can help them develop original designs.
Create an Etsy Storefront
Etsy.com is a website that enables artists and vintage retailers to sell their wares. You’ll find many handmade items on the website. You’ll also find artwork. You can create a storefront at Etsy and sell your photos through the store.
Wallpapers
You can also sell your photographs as wallpapers for people’s computer monitors, mobile devices and tablets. Everyone wants to customize their electronics and your original photos may be exactly what they’re looking for.
There are many ways to sell your photos online. Begin by defining your niche and looking for opportunities within that niche. Don’t forget to market your photographs. A great way to do this is to participate in social networking and photo sharing websites. To your success!

Improving Your AdSense Earnings.

2011-07-12T12:26:00.001+01:00

If you’re making a bit of money from AdSense but know you could be getting even higher CPMs, then read this article carefully. You’re about to learn a handful of powerful, proven tips and tactics for improving your AdSense CPMs.
Try Saying Sponsored Links
AdSense doesn’t allow you to tell users to click on advertising or to disguise advertising as non-advertising. However, AdSense does specifically allow you to place the text “Advertising” or “Sponsored Links” above an AdSense box.
As counter-intuitive as it may seem, a normal-sized sentence, bolded that says “Our Sponsors:” can often increase conversions. Test it out in your market.
Match or Contrast
There are two ways main ways to get high conversions in AdSense.
The first and most common is to make your AdSense format match as closely to your website as possible. The text color, font, font size, link color and AdSense borders should all match the layout of your site.
When you do this, it’s much more likely that someone will think the ads are part of your site or endorsed by your site and click on a link.
On the other hand, one less used but also successful tactic is to do just the opposite. Use contrasting colors or designs to deliberately make the ads stand out. Design the ad boxes in such a way that they literally pop out of the screen, drawing attention and possibly clicks.
Experiment with both methods to see how they work for you.
Always Split Test
Learn to use channels. Channels are at first a bit confusing, but once you get the hang of them they’re actually extremely powerful tracking tools. When combined with Google Website Optimizer, you can test a wide range of variables at the same time to figure out the best way to make the most money from your traffic.
Test everything you can think of. Colors, placements, ad sizes, number of ad units – everything. You never know what’ll work until you try.
Placement Tips
In general, you’ll get a higher click-through rate by having your ads above the fold than below the fold. A classical location is the large square ad in the upper left corner of a post.
Navigation bar ads are also another popular and successful option. Be sure to customize the settings so the navigation bar units look as similar to your actual navigation as possible.
Finally, placement near images or other eye-catching elements on your website tends to work very well. Make sure not to misrepresent the ad as being related to the image, or you’ll violate the terms of service.
These are a handful of proven strategies, distilled from the experience of many marketers. You’ll rarely have a very high CPM when you’re just getting started. Over time however, with consistent testing, you’ll find your CPMs rising higher and higher.

How Windows Product Activation (WPA) Works?

2011-07-12T12:08:00.000+01:00

Windows Product Activation or WPA is a license validation procedure introduced by Microsoft Corporation in all versions of it’s Windows operating system. WPA was first introduced in Windows XP and continues to exist in Windows Server 2003, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008 and Windows 7 as well. WPA enforces each end user to activate their copy of Windows so as to prevent unauthorized usage beyond the specific period of time until it is verified as genuine by Microsoft. How WPA really works was a closely guarded secret until GmbH analyzed WPA using a copy of Windows XP RC1 and published a paper on their findings. In this post you will find answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about Windows Product Activation. Why activation? Microsoft’s intention behind the activation is to limit the usage of it’s Windows operating system to only one machine for which the retail license is issued. Any other computer which runs on the same license must be disallowed from using the software. Thus WPA demands for activation of the product within 30 days of it’s installation so as to ensure that it is genuine. What does “Genuine Windows” means? The copy of Windows is said to be genuine only if the product key used during the installation is genuine. It means that a given product key (retail license) must be used to install Windows only on one computer for which the license was purchased. Thus if the same key is used for the installation on another computer, then it is said to be a pirated copy. Exactly what information is transmitted during the activation? When you activate your copy of Windows you are transmitting an Installation ID code to the Microsoft either by phone or Internet depending on the method you choose to activate. Based on this, the Microsoft’s licensing system can determine whether or not the installed OS is genuine. If it is said to be genuine, then the system will receive the Activation ID which completes the activation process. If the activation is done via telephone then the Activation ID needs to be entered manually to complete the activation process. What information does the Installation ID contain? This Installation ID is a 50-digit number which is derived from the following two data. 1. Product ID – It is actually derived from the 25-digit product key (the alphanumeric value that is printed on the sticker over the Windows CD/DVD case) that is entered during the installation of the operating system. The Product ID is used to uniquely identify your copy of Windows. 2. Hardware ID – This value is derived based on the hardware configuration of your computer. The WPA system checks the following 10 categories of the computer hardware to derive the Hardware ID: ■Display Adapter ■SCSI Adapter ■IDE Adapter (effectively the motherboard) ■Network Adapter (NIC) and its MAC Address ■RAM Amount Range (i.e., 0-64mb, 64-128mb, etc.) ■Processor Type ■Processor Serial Number ■Hard Drive Device ■Hard Drive Volume Serial Number (VSN) ■CD-ROM / CD-RW / DVD-ROM Thus the Installation ID which is a combination of Product ID and Hardware ID is finally derived and sent to Microsoft during the activation process. How is the Installation ID validated? The Installation ID needs to be validated to confirm the authenticity of the installed copy of Windows. So after the Installation ID is received by Microsoft, it is decoded back so as to obtain the actual product key and the hardware details of the computer involved in the activation process. The Microsoft’s system will now look to see if this is the first time the product key is being used for the activation. This happens when the user is trying to activate his Windows for the first time after purchase. If this is the case then the Installation ID is validated and the corresponding Activation ID is issued which completes the activation process. However Microsoft system will now associate this product key with the hardware ID of the computer and stores this information on their servers. In simple words, during the first use of the product key, it is paired together with the Hardware ID and this information is stored up on the Microsoft servers. What if a computer running a pirated copy of Windows attempts to activate? The activation fails whenever the copy of Windows installed is not said to be genuine. This usually happens when the product key used for the installation is said to have been used earlier on a different computer. This is determined during the activation process as follows: During the validation of the Installation ID, the Microsoft’s system checks to see if the same product key was used in any of the previous activation processes. If yes then it looks to see the Hardware ID associated with it. The computer running a pirated copy of Windows will obviously have a different hardware configuration and hence the Hardware ID will mismatch. In this case the activation process will fail. Thus for a successful activation, either of the following two cases must be satisfied: 1.The product key must have been used for the first time. ie: The product key should not have been used for earlier activations on any other computer. 2.If the product key is said to have been used earlier, then the Hardware ID should match. This happens only if the same computer for which the license was genuinely purchased is attempting for subsequent activation. What about formatting the hard disk? Each time the hard disk is reformatted and Windows is re-installed, it needs to be re-activated. However the activation process will be completed smoothly since the same computer is attempting for subsequent activation. In this case both the product key and the Hardware ID will match and hence the activation becomes successful. What if I upgrade or make changes to my hardware? In the above mentioned 10 categories of hardware, at least 7 should be the same. Thus you are allowed to make changes to not more than 3 categories of hardware. If you make too many changes then your activation will fail. In this case, it is necessary to contact the customer service representative via phone and explain about your problem. If he is convinced he may re-issue a new product key for your computer using which you can re-activate your Windows. Some things WPA does not do ■WPA does not send any personal information at all about you to Microsoft. There is still an option to register the product with Microsoft, but that is separate and entirely voluntary. ■If you prefer to activate via phone, you are not required to give any personal information to Microsoft. ■WPA does not provide a means for Microsoft to turn off your machine or damage your data/hardware. (Nor do they even have access to your data). This is a common myth that many people have about Microsoft products. ■WPA is not a “lease” system requiring more payments after two years or any other period. You may use the product as licensed in perpetuity.

How to Hack Windows Administrator Password

2011-07-05T14:07:00.002+01:00

This hack will show you how to reset Windows administrator password (for Win 2000, XP, Vista and Win 7) at times when you forget it or when you want to gain access to a computer for which you do not know the password.

Most of us have experienced a situation where in we need to gain access to a computer which is password protected or at times we may forget the administrator password without which it becomes impossible to login to the computer. So here is an excellent hack using which you can reset the password or make the password empty (remove the password) so that you can gain administrator access to the computer. You can do this with a small tool called Offline NT Password & Registry Editor. This utility works offline, that means you need to shut down your computer and boot off your using a floppy disk, CD or USB device (such as pen drive). The tool has the following features.

You do not need to know the old password to set a new one
Will detect and offer to unlock locked or disabled out user accounts!
There is also a registry editor and other registry utilities that works under linux/unix, and can be used for other things than password editing.

How it works?

Most Windows operating systems stores the login passwords and other encrypted passwords in a file called sam (Security Accounts Manager). This file can be usually found in \windows\system32\config. This file is a part of Windows registry and remains inaccessible as long as the OS is active. Hence it is necessary that you need to boot off your computer and access this sam file via boot. This tool intelligently gains access to this file and will reset/remove the password associated with administrator or any other account.

The download link for both CD and floppy drives along with the complete instructions is given below
Offline NT Password & Reg Editor Download

It is recommended that you download the CD version of the tool since floppy drive is outdated and doesn’t exist in today’s computer. Once you download you’ll get a bootable image which you need to burn it onto your CD. Now boot your computer from this CD and follow the screen instructions to reset the password.

Another simple way to reset non-administrator account passwords

Here is another simple way through which you can reset the password of any non-administrator accounts. The only requirement for this is that you need to have administrator privileges. Here is a step-by-step instruction to accomplish this task.

1. Open the command prompt (Start->Run->type cmd->Enter)
2. Now type net user and hit Enter
3. Now the system will show you a list of user accounts on the computer. Say for example you need to reset the password of the account by name badboy, then do as follows
4. Type net user badboy * and hit Enter. Now the system will ask you to enter the new password for the account. That’s it. Now you’ve successfully reset the password for badboy without knowing his old password.
So in this way you can reset the password of any Windows account at times when you forget it so that you need not re-install your OS for any reason. I hope this helps.

Ways to Identify Safe Websites on the Internet.

2011-07-05T14:05:00.000+01:00

On the whole Internet, there are approximately more than 150 million active websites up and running. As a result, it often becomes a real challenge for the users to identify safe websites that are trustworthy and reputed. Have you ever wondered to know the reputation of a website before placing the order? Need to know whether a given website is child safe? Well, here are some of the ways to identify safe websites on the Web.

1. WOT or Web Of Trust (http://www.mywot.com/):

WOT is a great place to test the reputation of your favorite website. WOT gives real-time ratings for every website based on the feedback that it gets from millions of trustworthy users across the globe and trusted sources, such as phishing and malware blacklists. Each domain name is evaluated based on this data and ratings are applied to them accordingly.

Trustworthiness signifies the overall safety of the website. A poor rating may indicate that the site is associated with threats like Internet scams, phishing, identity theft risks and malware. For more information on phishing, you may refer my other post on how to identify and avoid phishing scams.

Vendor reliability tells you whether a given site is safe for carrying out buy and sell transactions with it. An excellent rating indicates superior customer satisfaction while a poor rating indicates possible scam or bad shopping experience.

Privacy indicates about “to what extent the site respects the privacy of it’s users and protects their personal identity and data”.

Child Safety indicates whether the content of a given site is appropriate for children. Site contents like sexual material, nudity and vulgarity will have a poor Child Safety rating.

In most cases, the WOT ratings are found to be highly accurate. To check the reputation of any given website, just visit http://www.mywot.com/ type-in the address of your favorite website and click on “Check now”. This tool alone can tell you a lot about the reputation and safety level of a website. However, in addition to this, I am giving you another 3 handy tools to identify safe websites on the Web.

2. McCafee SiteAdvisor:

McCafee SiteAdvisor is a free tool that is available as a browser add-on. It adds safety ratings to your browser and search engine results. You can download it from http://www.siteadvisor.com/.

3. StopBadware:

Using this tool, you can check whether a given site is said to have involved in malware activity in the past. To check this, go to http://www.stopbadware.org/home/reportsearch and enter the URL or domain name of a website and click on “Search Clearinghouse ”. If the search does not return any result, that means the site was never involved in any of the malware activity in the past.

4. Google Pagerank:

Google PageRank is another great tool to check the reputation and popularity of a website. The PageRank tool rates every webpage on a scale of 1 to 10 which indicates Google’s view of importance of the page. If a given website has a PageRank of less than 3, then it is said to be less popular among the other sites on the Internet.

However, PageRank will only tell you how much popular a given website is and has nothing to do with the safety level of a website. So, this tool alone cannot be used to evaluate a website’s safety and other factors.

PageRank feature is available as a part of Google Toolbar. You can install Google Toolbar from http://www.google.com/intl/en_uk/toolbar/ie/index.html.

I hope you like this article. Waiting for your comments…

How to Repair Registry of Windows PC

2011-07-05T13:53:00.000+01:00

Registry Repair Tips

This article explains how to inspect and repair registry errors in your Windows PC, so as to improve it’s overall performance. If you are a Windows user, then you will most probably be aware of the fact that the Windows registry gets corrupted over time resulting in an overall decreased performance of your computer.

At times, registry errors can also make your PC to freeze down and hang up every now and then causing a serious annoyance to the user. At this point, the registry needs a serious repair to bring your PC back to it’s life. Well, before I tell you how to repair the registry, lets see what causes the registry to get corrupted.

Registry errors may occur due to installing too many applications/softwares from time to time without verifying the publishers. This may create invalid entries in the registry hive leading to errors. With the Internet boom and the era of freeware with free downloads, people often install programs from untrusted sources which results in a serious damage to the registry. Since the registry is a crucial component of the Windows operating system, damage to this registry can cause the system performance to drop down significantly.

How to Repair the Registry?

The best and the easiest way to repair your registry is by using a Registry Repair Tool (Registry Cleaner). A Registry Cleaner will automatically scan the registry of your PC to find invalid entries and will repair them by removing the errors with in no time. A registry cleaner is the simple and safest solution to repair registry and bring your PC back to it’s life without the need to re-install the Windows.

Which Registry Cleaner is the Best?

Well, today there exists hundreds of Registry repair tools on the market and as a result, people often get confused at which one to go far. Hence, when it comes to the choice of Registry repair tool, we must be very selective since not all of them are the same.

On the Internet, there exists many such tools which are simply useless and doesn’t apply any significant fixes to the Windows registry. After trying many such useless products on my PC, I finally found one good product which actually made a magic to my PC performance. It is:

PC Health Advisor (TESTED)

PC Health Advisor is one of the best and award winning registry cleaner tool that repairs registry to avoid PC errors such as unwanted shutdown, freezing, crashing and more. PC Health Advisor will

Repair registry and increases your PC performance by upto 70%
Repair registry to fix DLL errors and invalid shortcuts
Free up virtual memory to avoid error messages
Performs Defragmentation and Compression of the registry
Repair registry to fix blue screen errors, system crashes, startup errors and more…

PC Health Advisor is not just a Registry cleaner, rather it is a complete Optimization Toolkit for your PC. Visit PC Health Advisor Homepage for more information on this program.

Can I Manually Repair the Registry?

Windows registry has a very complex structure with hundreds of thousands of entries embedded in it. A corrupt registry may contain thousands of invalid entries and errors in it and hence it is impractical and almost impossible to manually inspect, find and repair those errors. Also manual registry repair involves serious risk and can lead to a total system breakdown if done improperly. Except you are a highly experienced Windows user or a Windows expert, users are not encouraged to tamper with the registry.

Hence, using a registry repair tool is the safest and easiest way to repair the registry and improve the overall performance of your PC. Registry repair tools will not only repair the registry but also maintains it’s health in a good condition so as to avoid any future damage to it. It is recommended that you periodically (daily or weekly) perform registry scans using these tools to repair the errors as and when they come up so that, you can keep your PC’s health at it’s best. Just repairing the Windows registry can make your PC blazing fast like never before!

How to recover deleted files!!!!

2011-07-05T13:50:00.001+01:00

Have you accidentally deleted your files from the Hard disk? Do you desperately want to recover them back? Well, you need not panic!

It is possible to recover the deleted files back from the hard disk (even after you have Shift+Deleted) provided you act as soon as you realize that the files are deleted and use the best deleted files recovery software.

In this post you will find a detailed information on how to recover the deleted files from your Windows PC or Mac.

How Does the File Recovery Process Works?

When you delete a file from your computer, (or even from the recycle bin) the file is not actually deleted. Unlike what most people think, the file is not permanantly deleted or dropped from your hard disk even if you have deleted them from the recycle bin.

Let’s take up a small example of a book containing 50 pages. Suppose when you delete the page 25, assume that only the entry in the index which points to the page 25 is deleted and not actually the page 25 itself. Likewise, when you delete a file from your hard disk, only the pointer which points to this file is removed and not actually the file itself. This file still exists intact and is 100% possible to recover it back in the original condition. In this condition, the file becomes invisible and hence appears to have been deleted.

Recovering the deleted files 100% back in the original condition is very much dependent on the efficiency of the Data Recovery software you use. So, it is necessary to make a right choice when it comes to the selection of file recovery software.

Today, there exists hundreds of data recovery tools and softwares on the market which boast to recover 100% of all the deleted files back in the original condition. But in reality, most of these softwares are neither effective nor capable of recovering your files back. So, when it comes to Data Recovery, I recommend the following software as the best:

1. Stellar Phoenix Data Recovery (for Windows)
2. Stellar Phoenix Mac Data Recovery (for Mac)

Stellar Phoenix is one of the best company specializing in deleted files recovery services and solutions since 1993. Stellar’s Data Recovery Solutions encompasses a wide range of software for almost any data loss situation ranging from accidental formats to virus attacks to software malfunctions. Hence Stellar provides the best tools to recover deleted files with over 1,000,000 satisfied customers across 137 countries.

What are the Chances of Recovering my Files Back?

Since the operating system doesn’t immediately re-use the space from the deleted files, it is most certainly possible to recover the deleted files back in 100% original condition. It may take up a very long time for those files to be completely deleted since the modern hard disks have ample capacity. Hence the chances are too less that the space from the deleted files are re-used immediately.

So, it is really worth to try out the file recovery softwares like Stellar Data Recovery for Windows or Stellar Data Recover for Mac. Some files are reported to have been recovered even after years of it’s deletion. However, for the best results, it is recommended that you use the file recovery software as immediately as possible to recover your deleted files.

Recovering the Deleted Files

In order to recover the deleted files all you need to do is perform a scan (search) for the deleted files using a File Recovery Software. Please be informed that there is no manual way to recover the deleted files. The Phoenix Data Recovery software performs a thorough scanning of the hard disk sector by sector and will locate the existence of deleted files to restore them back in the original condition. It is the only software that supports 185 popular file types including Windows NT Registry, JPEG, MP4, GIF, BMP and MS Word files. The software offers rich graphical support and incorporates advanced scanning methods to completely scan and recover deleted files from your hard drive. With this recovery software, it is possible to

Recover FAT16, FAT32, VFAT, NTFS, and NTFS5 file system partitions
Recover deleted emails
Recover deleted documents
Recover deleted photos
Recover deleted music
Formatted Hard-Drive recovery
Recover files from USB Drives, CDs, DVDs and memory cards
Recover almost all the camera format files

2011-07-01T15:04:00.000+01:00

Have you ever wondered how to test your Antivirus software to ensure it’s proper working? Well here is a quick and easy way to test your antivirus. The process is called EICAR test which will work on any antivirus and was developed by European Institute of Computer Antivirus Research. This process can be used by people, companies and antivirus programmers to test the proper functioning of the antivirus/antimalware software without having to deal with the real computer virus which can cause damage to the computer. Here is a step-by-step procedure to test your antivirus.
1. Open a notepad (New Text Document.TXT) and copy the following code exactly onto it, and save the notepad.

EICAR Test code
X5O!P%@AP[4\PZX54(P^)7CC)7}$EICAR-STANDARD-ANTIVIRUS-TEST-FILE!$H+H*

2. Rename the file from New Text Document.TXT to myfile.com
3. Now run the antivirus scan on this myfile.com file.
If the antivirus is functioning properly on your computer, then it should generate a warning and immediately delete the file upon scanning. Otherwise you may have to re-install your antivirus.

NOTE: Most antivirus will pop-out a warning message in the Step-1 itself

You can also place the myfile.com file in a ZIP or RAR file and run a scan on it so as to ensure whether your antivirus can detect the test string in the compressed archive. Any antivirus when scanning this file will respond exactly as it will do for a genuine virus/malicious code. This test will cause no damage to your computer even though the antivirus will flag it as a malicious script. Hence it is the safest method to test the proper functioning of any antivirus

How to Install Windows 7 From a USB Drive

2011-07-01T15:01:00.000+01:00

Installing Windows from a USB flash drive has several advantages – First of all, the overall speed of the installation process will increase significantly, carrying a USB stick is much more convenient than a DVD, and finally it becomes possible to install the OS even on those systems that do not have a DVD drive, such as a netbook.

In this post, I will show you how to load the Windows installation on to your USB flash drive and make it bootable just like the DVD.

Tools Required:

1. USB flash drive with a minimum capacity of 4 GB.

2. Windows 7 set-up DVD.

Step-1: Plug-in your USB flash drive and backup all the existing data in it.

Step-2: Open the command prompt. If you are using Windows 7/Vista then open it with administrator rights*.

* Goto Start -> All Programs -> Accessories -> Right-click on “Command Prompt” and select “Run as Administrator”.

Step 3: In the command prompt, type in the following command:

DISKPART

This will start the Microsoft DiskPart utility as shown below:

Now issue the following command:

LIST DISK

This will show you a list of available disks on your system. Disk 0 is usually the hard disk. In my case, Disk 5 is the USB drive (this can be a different one in your case). Now issue the command as shown below:

SELECT DISK 5

NOTE: In the above command, 5 is the USB drive number on my system. If you have a different number on your system, then you need to replace 5 with that number.

Step-4: Now issue the following list of commands one by one as shown below:

CLEAN

CREATE PARTITION PRIMARY

SELECT PARTITION 1

ACTIVE

FORMAT FS=NTFS QUICK

ASSIGN

EXIT

Minimize the command prompt and proceed to the next step.

Step 5: Insert the Windows 7/Vista installation disc and note down the “drive letter” of your DVD drive. In my case, it is “H:”. Now type the following list of commands as shown below:

H: CD BOOT
CD BOOT
BOOTSECT.EXE /NT60 M:(NOTE: M: is your USB drive letter)
EXIT

Step-6: Copy the contents of your Windows 7/Vista installation disk into the USB flash drive.

That’s it! Your USB stick is now ready to boot and install the OS for you. Don’t forget to enable the “USB Boot” option and change the “boot priority to USB device from hard disk” in your BIOS settings.

I hope you like this post. Pass your comments to express your opinion.

How Firewalls works

2011-06-29T15:39:00.000+01:00

If you have been using Internet on a regular basis or working in a large company and surf the Internet while you are at work, you must have surely come across the term firewall. You might have also heard of people saying “firewalls protect their computer from web attacks and hackers” or “a certain website has been blocked by firewall in their work place”. If you have ever wondered to know what exactly is this firewall and how it works, here we go. In this post I will try to explain “How firewalls work” in a layman’s terms.

How Firewalls Work

Firewalls are basically a barrier between your computer (or a network) and the Internet (outside world). A firewall can be simply compared to a security guard who stands at the entrance of your house and filters the visitors coming to your place. He may allow some visitors to enter while denying others whom he suspects of being intruders. Similarly a firewall is a software program or a hardware device that filters the information (packets) coming through the Internet to your personal computer or a computer network.

Firewalls may decide to allow or block network traffic between devices based on the rules that are pre-configured or set by the firewall administrator. Most personal firewalls such as Windows firewall operate on a set of pre-configured rules that are most suitable under normal circumstances so that the user need not worry much about configuring the firewall.

Personal firewalls are easy to install and use and hence preferred by end-users for use on their personal computers. However large networks and companies prefer those firewalls that have plenty of options to configure so as to meet their customized needs. For example, a company may set up different firewall rules for FTP servers, Telnet servers and Web servers. In addition the company can even control how the employees connect to the Internet by blocking access to certain websites or restricting the transfer of files to other networks. Thus in addition to security, a firewall can give the company a tremendous control over how people use the network.

Firewalls use one or more of the following methods to control the incoming and outgoing traffic in a network:

1. Packet Filtering: In this method packets (small chunks of data) are analyzed against a set of filters. Packet filters has a set of rules that come with accept and deny actions which are pre-configured or can be configured manually by the firewall administrator. If the packet manages to make it through these filters then it is allowed to reach the destination; otherwise it is discarded.

2. Stateful Inspection: This is a newer method that doesn’t analyze the contents of the packets. Instead it compares certain key aspects of each packet to a database of trusted source. Both incoming and outgoing packets are compared against this database and if the comparison yields a reasonable match, then the packets are allowed to travel further. Otherwise they are discarded.

Firewall Configuration

Firewalls can be configured by adding one or more filters based on several conditions as mentioned below:

1. IP addresses: In any case if an IP address outside the network is said to be unfavorable, then it is possible to set filter to block all the traffic to and from that IP address. For example, if a cetain IP address is found to be making too many connections to a server, the administrator may decide to block traffic from this IP using the firewall.

2. Domain names: Since it is difficult to remember the IP addresses, it is an easier and smarter way to configure the firewalls by adding filters based on domain names. By setting up a domain filter, a company may decide to block all access to certain domain names, or may provide access only to a list of selected domain names.

3. Ports/Protocols: Every service running on a server is made available to the Internet using numbered ports, one for each service. In simple words, ports can be compared to virtual doors of the server through which services are made available. For example, if a server is running a Web (HTTP) service then it will be typically available on port 80. In order to avail this service, the client needs to connect to the server via port 80. Similarly different services such as Telnet (Port 23), FTP (port 21) and SMTP (port 25) services may be running on the server. If the services are intended for the public, they are usually kept open. Otherwise they are blocked using the firewall so as to prevent intruders from using the open ports for making unauthorized connections.

4. Specific words or phrases: A firewall can be configured to filter one or more specific words or phrases so that, both the incoming and outgoing packets are scanned for the words in the filter. For example, you may set up a firewall rule to filter any packet that contains an offensive term or a phrase that you may decide to block from entering or leaving your network.

Hardware vs. Software Firewall

Hardware firewalls provide higher level of security and hence preferred for servers where security has the top most priority whereas, the software firewalls are less expensive and are most preferred in home computers and laptops. Hardware firewalls usually come as an in-built unit of a router and provide maximum security as it filters each packet in the hardware level itself even before it manages to enter your computer. A good example is the Linksys Cable/DSL router.

Why Firewall?

Firewalls provide security over a number of online threats such as Remote login, Trojan backdoors, Session hijacking, DOS & DDOS attacks, viruses, cookie stealing and many more. The effectiveness of the security depends on the way you configure the firewall and how you set up the filter rules. However major threats such as DOS and DDOS attacks may sometimes manage to bypass the firewalls and do the damage to the server. Even though firewall is not a complete answer to online threats, it can most effectively handle the attacks and provide security to the computer up to the maximum possible extent.

12 ways to Maintain a Virus Free Computer

2011-06-28T12:54:00.000+01:00

Is your computer infected with virus? Do you often get mysterious error messages? Well this is a common problem faced by almost all the computer users across the globe. There are many viruses and worms out there that could infect your computer. Some are harmless, but, they do have the capacity to do any number of nasty things, up to and including, erasing all data from your computer. However there are ways to keep viruses away from your PC. Here are the 12 tips to maintain a virus free computer.

1. Email is one of the common ways by which your computer can catch a virus. So it is always recommended to stay away from SPAM. Open only those emails that has it’s origin from a trusted source such as those which comes from your contact list. If you are using your own private email host (other than gmail, yahoo, hotmail etc.) then it is highly recommended that you use a good anti-spam software. And finally NEVER click on any links in the emails that comes from untrusted sources.

2. USB thumb/pen drives is another common way by which viruses spread rapidly. So it is always a good habit to perform a virus scan before copying any data onto your computer. NEVER double-click the pen drive to open it. Instead right-click on it and select the option “open”. This is a safe way to open a pen drive.

3. Be careful about using MS Outlook. Outlook is more susceptible to worms than other e-mail programs, unless you have efficient Anti-Virus programs running. Use Pegasus or Thunderbird (by Mozilla), or a web-based program such as Hotmail or Yahoo (In Firefox).

4. As we all know, Internet is the main source of all the malicious programs including viruses, worms, trojans etc. In fact Internet contributes to virus infection by up to 80%. So here are the tips for safe surfing habits so that you can ward off virus infection up to the maximum extent.

Don’t click on pop-up windows that announce a sudden disaster in your city or announce that you’ve won an hourly prize. They are the ways to mislead Internet users and you should never trust them.
You can also use a pop-up blocker to automatically block those pop-ups.

5. Most of us use search engines like Google to find what we are looking for. It is quite obvious for a malicious website to get listed in the search results. So to avoid visiting those untrusted malicious websites, you can download and install the AVG LinkScanner which is a freeware. This tool can become very handy and will help you to stay away from malicious websites.

6. Install a good antivirus software and keep it updated. Also perform full system scan periodically. It is highly recommended that you turn on the automatic update feature. This is the most essential task to protect your PC from virues. If PC security is your first option then it is recommended that you go for a shareware antivirus software over the free ones. Most of the antivirus supports the Auto-Protect feature that provides realtime security for your PC. Make sure that this feature is turned on.

7. Install a good Antispyware program, that operates against Internet malware and spyware.

8. Never open any email attachments that come from untrusted sources. If it is a picture, text or sound file (these attachments end in the extensions .txt, .jpeg, .gif, .bmp, .tif, .mp3, .htm, .html, and .avi), you are probably safe, but still do a scan before opening.

9. Do not use disks that other people gave you, even from work. The disk could be infected with a virus. Of course, you can run a virus scan on it first to check it out.

10. Set up your Windows Update to automatically download patches and upgrades. This will allow your computer to automatically download any updates to both the operating system and Internet Explorer. These updates fix security holes in both pieces of software.

11. While you download files from untrusted websites/sources such as torrents, warez etc. make sure that you run a virus scan before executing them.

12. And finally it is recommended not to visit the websites that feature illegal/unwanted stuffs such as cracks, serials, warez etc. since they contribute much in spreading of viruses and other malicious programs.

How to Hide Your IP Address

2011-06-28T12:50:00.000+01:00

Every time your computer is connected to the Internet, it is assigned a public IP address which is used to uniquely identify your computer. Wherever you visit websites or use Internet services, your public IP is also transmetted and recorded in the logs kept on those servers. Thus, your IP address makes it possible to trace all your web activities back to you.

So, How do I Hide my IP Address?

The best and the easiest way to hide your IP address is by using a proxy server (anonymous proxy server) in one form or the other. A proxy server is a special type of server which acts as an intermediary between your home computer (or network) and rest of the Internet. This proxy server makes requests for Internet services/information on behalf of your computer using it’s own IP address instead of yours. The obtained information is then passed on to your computer. Thus, your computer is indirectly connected to the Internet via a proxy server where the IP address of the proxy server is exposed and your actual IP address remains concealed. Web proxies are identified by a combination of URL and TCP port number which is similar to something as below:

http://207.133.133.205:35

In the above example, http://207.133.133.205 is the URL of the proxy server and 35 is the port number. There are a variety of these proxy servers available:

Transparent Proxy Server
This type of proxy server identifies itself as a proxy server and also makes the original IP address available through the http headers. These are generally used to speed-up the web browsing since thay have a very good ability to cache websites. But they do not conceal the IP of it’s users. It is widely known as transparent proxy because it will expose your real IP address to the outside world. This type of proxy server will not hide your IP address.

Anonymous Proxy Server
This type of proxy server identifies itself as a proxy server, but does not make the original IP address available. Anonymous proxy server is detectable, but provides reasonable anonymity for most users. This type of proxy server will hide your IP address.

Distorting Proxy Server
A Distorting proxy server identifies itself as a proxy server, but make an incorrect original IP address available through the http headers. This type of proxy server will hide your IP address.

High Anonymity Proxy Server (Elite Proxy)
An Elite proxy server does not identify itself as a proxy server and will not make the original IP address available to the outside world. This type of proxy server will hide your IP address.

Which Proxy is the Best?

Clearly High Anonymity Proxy (Elite Proxy) is the best to hide your IP address. Because of it’s nature, the elite proxy neither identifies itself as a proxy server nor will expose your real IP address to the Internet. Hence, it provides maximum privacy for your Internet activities.

You can obtain a long list of proxy server URLs on Google and configure your browser settings so as to make them working for you. However, most of the free proxy servers you get on the Internet will not be effective in concealing your IP address. Even if some of them work they will be too slow and may take several minutes for a single webpage to load.

So, in order to connect to a blazing fast elite proxy server, I recommend you to use the following IP Hiding software:

Hide the IP (Tested)

Hide the IP will put you behind a blazing fast Elite Proxy Server(High Anonymous Proxy) with just a click of a button. With this program, you need not worry about configuring your browser settings.

All you have to do is just install the program and select the proxy server you want to be behind. It offers a list of countries from which you can decide which country to be indicated as your origin.

How to ensure that the IP is hidden?

Before you hide your IP address, you can check your real IP by visiting the following website:

WhatIsMyIPAddress.Com

Once you get your real IP, switch on your IP hiding software. Now once again visit the above site and check your IP address. If you see a new IP then this means that your software is doing the right job.

Also, the above site (Whatismyipaddress.com) is capable of detecting many proxies. If you see the words such as “suspected proxy server or network sharing device” or similar words then, it means that the proxy you are using is not an Elite Proxy.

Download Hide the IP now and see the difference for yourself. For more information on this product, visit Hide the IP homepage from the following link:

Hide the IP (Download Link)

Changing Windows XP Product Key without Re-Installation

2011-06-28T12:44:00.002+01:00

This trick will show you how to change Windows XP product key without re-installing the operating system. This makes it possible to install a new genuine key without the need to format and re-install your Windows XP.

1. Goto start menu, run, type regedit

2. In registry editor goto

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\MICROSOFT\WINDOWS NT\CURRENT VERSION\WPA EVENTS

3. In the right panel open OOBE Timer

4. Edit/Change atleast one entry there, press OK and close registry editor.

5. In run type the following command

%systemroot%\system32\oobe\msoobe /a

and press enter

6. Activation wizard appears

7. Select activation by phone and in the next screen select the option CHANGE PRODUCT KEY, enter a valid corporate product key, press OK and close the wizard

8. Reboot the computer and type the same command in the Run

9. Activation wizard appears again and it shows the message WINDOWS IS ALREADY ACTIVATED

How to use Google for Hacking

2011-06-28T12:43:00.000+01:00

Google serves almost 80 percent of all search queries on the Internet, proving itself as the most popular search engine. However Google makes it possible to reach not only the publicly available information resources, but also gives access to some of the most confidential information that should never have been revealed. In this post I will show how to use Google for exploiting security vulnerabilities within websites. The following are some of the hacks that can be accomplished using Google.

1. Hacking Security Cameras

There exists many security cameras used for monitoring places like parking lots, college campus, road traffic etc. which can be hacked using Google so that you can view the images captured by those cameras in real time. All you have to do is use the following search query in Google. Type in Google search box exactly as follows and hit enter

inurl:”viewerframe?mode=motion”

Click on any of the search results (Top 5 recommended) and you will gain access to the live camera which has full controls. You will see something as follows

As you can see in the above screenshot, you now have access to the Live cameras which work in real-time. You can also move the cameras in all the four directions, perform actions such as zoom in and zoom out. This camera has really a less refresh rate. But there are other search queries through which you can gain access to other cameras which have faster refresh rates. So to access them just use the following search query.

intitle:”Live View / – AXIS”

Click on any of the search results to access a different set of live cameras. Thus you have hacked Security Cameras using Google.

2. Hacking Personal and Confidential Documents

Using Google it is possible to gain access to an email repository containing CV of hundreds of people which were created when applying for their jobs. The documents containing their Address, Phone, DOB, Education, Work experience etc. can be found just in seconds.

intitle:”curriculum vitae” “phone * * *” “address *” “e-mail”

You can gain access to a list of .xls (excel documents) which contain contact details including email addresses of large group of people. To do so type the following search query and hit enter.

filetype:xls inurl:”email.xls”

Also it’s possible to gain access to documents potentially containing information on bank accounts, financial summaries and credit card numbers using the following search query

intitle:index.of finances.xls

3. Hacking Google to gain access to Free Stuffs

Ever wondered how to hack Google for free music or ebooks. Well here is a way to do that. To download free music just enter the following query on google search box and hit enter.

“?intitle:index.of?mp3 eminem“

Now you’ll gain access to the whole index of eminem album where in you can download the songs of your choice. Instead of eminem you can subtitute the name of your favorite album. To search for the ebooks all you have to do is replace “eminem” with your favorite book name. Also replace “mp3″ with “pdf” or “zip” or “rar”.

I hope you enjoy this post. Pass your comments. Cheers!

How to Recover Deleted Files from Windows and Mac

2011-06-28T12:40:00.002+01:00

How to Recover Deleted Files

Have you accidentally deleted your files from the Hard disk? Do you desperately want to recover them back? Well, you need not panic!

In this post you will find a detailed information on how to recover the deleted files from your Windows PC or Mac.

How Does the File Recovery Process Works?

1. Stellar Phoenix Data Recovery (for Windows)
2. Stellar Phoenix Mac Data Recovery (for Mac)

What are the Chances of Recovering my Files Back?

Recovering the Deleted Files

Recover FAT16, FAT32, VFAT, NTFS, and NTFS5 file system partitions
Recover deleted emails
Recover deleted documents
Recover deleted photos
Recover deleted music
Formatted Hard-Drive recovery
Recover files from USB Drives, CDs, DVDs and memory cards
Recover almost all the camera format files

Visit the following links for more information on Stellar Data Recovery

1. Stellar Phoenix Data Recovery (for Windows)
2. Stellar Phoenix Mac Data Recovery (for Mac)

How to Alter Windows Product ID

2011-06-28T12:39:00.000+01:00

If you are running a Microsoft Windows operating system on your computer, then you are most likely aware of the fact that your PC will have a Product ID. This Product ID is a system specific alphanumeric code which is derived/calculated based on the Windows product key you use and the hardware configuration of your Computer. In simple words, Product ID is the alphanumeric code that you see when you Right-Click on the My Computer icon and select the Properties option.

Ever wondered how to alter the Windows Product ID?

It is possible to alter the Windows Product ID and change it to what ever you like. For example, you can change the Product ID and put your nickname in place of the formal Product ID displayed by the Operating System. This hack is too easy and can be done within minutes. The screenshot showing the altered Product ID is given below

Win 7 PC showing Original PID

Windows 7 PC showing Altered PID

As you can see from the above screenshot it is simple and easy to make your Windows display what ever you want in the place of the real Product ID. Here is a step-by-step procedure to alter your Windows Product ID.

1. Goto Start->Run and type the following in the Run dialog box

regedit

2. After you open the Registry Editor, navigate to the following key

HKey_Local_Machine\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\Current Version

3. On the right hand side, you can see an entry by name ProductID listed under the heading Name.
4. Double-Click on ProductID, a dialog box will pop-up showing your Windows PID. Now you can delete the original PID and enter anything of your choice.
5. Once you are done, just click on OK and close the Registry Editor. Now you can see the altered Product ID in the Windows Properties window.

NOTE: This trick works on Win 7, Vista and Win XP

I hope you like this trick. Pass your comments. Cheers!

How to hack any computer located anywhere in the world

2011-06-28T12:25:00.000+01:00

THIS NETBIOS HACKING GUIDE WILL TELL YOU ABOUT HACKING REMOTE COMPUTER AND GAINING ACCESS TO IT’S HARD-DISK OR PRINTER. NETBIOS HACK IS THE EASIEST WAY TO BREAK INTO A REMOTE COMPUTER.

STEP-BY-STEP NETBIOS HACKING PROCEDURE

1.Open command prompt

2. In the command prompt use the “net view” command
( OR YOU CAN ALSO USE “NB Scanner” OPTION IN “IP TOOLS” SOFTWARE BY ENTERING RANGE OF IP ADDRESSS. BY THIS METHOD YOU CAN SCAN NUMBER OF COMPUTERS AT A TIME).

Example: C:\>net view \\219.64.55.112

The above is an example for operation using command prompt. “net view” is one of the netbios command to view the shared resources of the remote computer. Here “219.64.55.112″ is an IP address of remote computer that is to be hacked through Netbios. You have to substitute a vlaid IP address in it’s place. If succeeded a list of HARD-DISK DRIVES & PRINTERS are shown. If not an error message is displayed. So repeat the procedure 2 with a different IP address.

3. After succeeding, use the “net use” command in the command prompt. The “net use” is another netbios command which makes it possible to hack remote drives or printers.

Example-1:
C:\>net use D: \\219.64.55.112\F
Example-2:
C:\>net use G: \\219.64.55.112\SharedDocs
Example-3:
C:\>net use I: \\219.64.55.112\Myprint

NOTE: In Examples 1,2 & 3, D:,G: & I: are the Network Drive Names that are to be created on your computer to access remote computer’s hard-disk.

NOTE: GIVE DRIVE NAMES THAT ARE NOT USED BY ANY OTHER DRIVES INCLUDING HARD-DISK DRIVES, FLOPPY DRIVES AND ROM-DRIVES ON YOUR COMPUTER. THAT IS, IF YOU HAVE C: & D: AS HARD DIRVES, A: AS FLOPPY DIVE AND E: AS CD-DRIVE, GIVE F: AS YOUR SHARED DRIVE IN THE COMMAND PROMPT

F:,”SharedDocs” are the names of remote computer’s hard-disk’s drives that you want to hack. “Myprint” is the name of remote computer’s printer. These are displayed after giving “net use” command. “219.64.55.112″ is the IP address of remote computer that you want to hack.

4. After succeeding your computer will give a message that “The command completed successfully“. Once you get the above message you are only one step away from hacking the computer.

Now open “My Computer” you will see a new “Hard-Disk drive”(Shared) with the specified name. You can open it and access remote computer’s Hard-Drive. You can copy files, music, folders etc. from victim’s hard-drive. You can delete/modify data on victim’s hard-drive only if WRITE-ACCESS is enabled on victim’s system. You can access files/folders quickly through “Command Prompt”.

NOTE: If Remote Computer’s Firewall Is Enabled Your Computer Will Not Succeed In Gaining Access To Remote Computer Through Netbios. That is Netbios Hacking Is Not Possible In This Situation.(An Error Message Is Displayed). So Repeat The Procedure 2,3 With Different IP Address.

HAPPY HACKING!!

How to customise Google for easy search.

2011-06-28T12:20:00.000+01:00

Google is indisputedbly the best search engine out there on the Internet, however there are a few ways by which you can customize Google and make it even better. I have got 3 best free Firefox extensions using which you can customize Google by adding extra useful information to your search results and remove unwanted informationlike ads, spam and click tracking so as to improve the overall searching experience. The following are the 3 best extensions for Firefox using which you can improve the search results.

1. OptimizeGoogle:

Using OptimizeGoogle, you can get rid of text ads from Google search results, add links from about 10 other search engines, add position counter, product results and more. You can even filter your search results to see dead websites (using WayBack Machine) and remove click tracking so that you can search anonymously. Here is a list of some of the other useful features of this plugin.

1. Use Google suggest (get word suggestion while typing)
2. Add more security by using https wherever necessary
3. Filter spammy websites from search results page
4. Option to remove SideWiki
5. Add links to bookmark your favorite result
6. Add links to other news and product search sites

To install the plugin, just visit the OptimizeGoogle page from your Firefox browser and click on the Download button. Once installed, you can enable or disable the customization options from the Tools -> OptimizeGoogle Options.

After you customize Google to improve the search results, how about adding a feature that provides a way to preview the website in the search results itself? Here is a miracle Firefox extension to this job for us.

2. SearchPreview:

SearchPreview (formerly GooglePreview) will insert thumbnail view of the webpage into the Google search results page itself so that you can take the guess work out of clicking a link. Just install the plugin, reload Firefox and you will have the SearchPreview at work. You can install this plugin from the following link.

SearchPreview Download

OptimizeGoogle and SearchPreview have made our search results smarter and faster. Now how about safer? Well you have another Firefox plugin to make your search results safer as well. Here we go.

3. McAfee SiteAdvisor:

This is a free browser plugin that gives safety advice about websites on the search results page before you actually click on the links. After you install the SiteAdvisor plugin, you will see a small rating icon next to each search result which will alert you about suspecious/risky websites and help you find safer alternatives. These ratings are derived based on various tests conducted by McAfee.

Based on the quality of links, SiteAdvisor may display Green, Yellow, Red or Grey icon next to the search results. Green means that the link is completely safe, Yellow means that there is a minor risk, Red means a mojor risk and Grey means that the site is not yet rated. These results will guide you to Web safety.

SiteAdvisor works on both Internet Explorer and Firefox which you can download from the following link:

McAfee SiteAdvisor.zip Download

I hope you enjoy these 3 plugins which make your searching experience a lot more simpler and safer. Here is a snapshot of all the 3 plugins at work.

Popularity: 3% [?]

How a Virus works

2011-06-28T12:08:00.001+01:00

Due to ever increasing threat from virus and other malicious programs, almost every computer today comes with a pre-installed antivirus software on it. In fact, an antivirus has become one of the most essential software package for every computer. Even though every one of us have an antivirus software installed on our computers, only a few really bother to understand how it actually works! Well if you are one among those few who would really bother to understand how an antivirus works, then this article is for you.

How Antivirus Works

An antivirus software typically uses a variety of strategies in detecting and removing viruses, worms and other malware programs. The following are the two most widely employed identification methods:

1. Signature-based dectection (Dictionary approach)

This is the most commonly employed method which involves searching for known patterns of virus within a given file. Every antivirus software will have a dictionary of sample malware codes called signatures in it’s database. Whenever a file is examined, the antivirus refers to the dictionary of sample codes present within it’s database and compares the same with the current file. If the piece of code within the file matches with the one in it’s dictionary then it is flagged and proper action is taken immediately so as to stop the virus from further replicating. The antivirus may choose to repair the file, quarantine or delete it permanently based on it’s potential risk.

As new viruses and malwares are created and released every day, this method of detection cannot defend against new malwares unless their samples are collected and signatures are released by the antivirus software company. Some companies may also encourage the users to upload new viruses or variants, so that the virus can be analyzed and the signature can be added to the dictionary.

Signature based detection can be very effective, but requires frequent updates of the virus signature dictionary. Hence the users must update their antivirus software on a regular basis so as to defend against new threats that are released daily.

2. Heuristic-based detection (Suspicious behaviour approach)

Heuristic-based detection involves identifying suspicious behaviour from any given program which might indicate a potential risk. This approach is used by some of the sophisticated antivirus softwares to identify new malware and variants of known malware. Unlike the signature based approach, here the antivirus doesn’t attempt to identify known viruses, but instead monitors the behavior of all programs.

For example, malicious behaviours like a program trying to write data to an executable program is flagged and the user is alerted about this action. This method of detection gives an additional level of security from unidentified threats.

File emulation: This is another type of heuristic-based approach where a given program is executed in a virtual environment and the actions performed by it are logged. Based on the actions logged, the antivirus software can determine if the program is malicious or not and carry out necessary actions in order to clean the infection.

Most commercial antivirus softwares use a combination of both signature-based and heuristic-based approaches to combat malware.

Issues of concern

Zero-day threats: A zero-day (zero-hour ) threat or attack is where a malware tries to exploit computer application vulnerabilities that are yet unidentified by the antivirus software companies. These attacks are used to cause damage to the computer even before they are identified. Since patches are not yet released for these kind of new threats, they can easily manage to bypass the antivirus software and carry out malicious actions. However most of the threats are identified after a day or two of it’s release, but damage caused by them before identification is quite inevitable.

Daily Updates: Since new viruses and threats are released everyday, it is most essential to update the antivirus software so as to keep the virus definitions up-to-date. Most softwares will have an auto-update feature so that the virus definitions are updated whenever the computer is connected to the Internet.

Effectiveness: Even though an antivirus software can catch almost every malware, it is still not 100% foolproof against all kinds of threats. As explained earlier, a zero-day threat can easily bypass the protective shield of the antivirus software. Also virus authors have tried to stay a step ahead by writing “oligomorphic“, “polymorphic” and, more recently, “metamorphic” virus codes, which will encrypt parts of themselves or otherwise modify themselves as a method of disguise, so as to not match virus signatures in the dictionary.

Thus user education is as important as antivirus software; users must be trained to practice safe surfing habits such as downloading files only from trusted websites and not blindly executing a program that is unknown or obtained from an untrusted source. I hope this article will help you understand the working of an antivirus software

How to hack cyber cafe's timer (part 1)...This trick works fulltime!!!!

2011-06-27T12:44:00.000+01:00

One missing feature of the task manager in Windows 2000 and XP is the option to momentarily freeze a process. Setting the priority of the process to idle will not give the desired result.
For example, if you're running a process that consumes all the CPU time available, this causes the CPU to run at 100% capacity all the time. Even if this process runs with idle priority, it will use the CPU when possible. To prevent over-heating of your pc or laptop, you can freeze these processes when you're away from your computer.
The windows of a frozen timer will remain visible, but will not be re-painted when another windows moves over it. Note that mouse-clicks and keystrokes are still sent to the timer and will be executed as soon as the timer resumes.
Warning: pausing and resuming processes might be harmful to your system, so use it with caution. To prevent serious damage, pausing of system processes is disabled.

Click HERE to download the software.

Is your Nokia original?

2011-06-27T12:35:00.002+01:00

Nokia is one of the largest selling phones across the globe. Most of us own a Nokia phone but are unaware of it’s originality. Are you keen to know whether your Nokia mobile phone is original or not? Then you are in the right place and this information is specially meant for you. Your phones IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity) number confirms your phone’s originality.

Press the following on your mobile *#06# to see your Phone’s IMEI number(serial number).

Then check the 7th and 8th numbers

Phone serial no. x x x x x x ? ? x x x x x x x

IF the Seventh & Eighth digits of your cell phone are 02 or 20 this means your cell phone was assembled in Emirates which is very Bad quality

IF the Seventh & Eighth digits of your cell phone are 08 or 80 this means your cell phone was manufactured in Germany which is fair quality

IF the Seventh & Eighth digits of your cell phone are 01 or 10 this means your cell phone was manufactured in Finland which is very Good

IF the Seventh & Eighth digits of your cell phone are 00 this means your cell phone was manufactured in original factory which is the best Mobile Quality

IF the Seventh & Eighth digits of your cell phone are 13 this means your cell phone was assembled in Azerbaijan which is very Bad quality and also dangerous for your health.

How to Hack symbiam S60 phones to install unsigned applications

2011-06-27T12:33:00.000+01:00

If you own a Nokia Symbian S60 phone, you will most likely be aware of the fact that it is not possible to install applications on it unless they are signed using a valid certificate. Have you been trying to install applications on your S60 3rd or 5th edition phone but ending up getting a certificate error? At times, this can be really annoying; but here is a smart solution to this problem!

Here in this post, I will show you how to hack your Symbian S60 3rd or 5th edition smartphone, so as to modify the phone’s firmware and completely bypass the mandatory signing requirement. So, once you are done with this one time hack, you should be able to install any compatible application including unsigned and those with an expired certificate.

What is the Need for Signing Applications?

From the 3rd edition onwards, all the Symbian S60 applications need to be signed in order to ensure their integrity, so that it would not be possible for a third party to tamper with the application. Also, signing ensures that you always install applications from a trusted source.

However, there are many freeware and beta applications that come unsigned as the developers cannot afford to buy a symbian certificate. Hence, it can be a real nightmare for the users who need to install such applications on their phones. So, here is a step-by-step procedure to hack your phone and permanently disable this security feature.
1. Download HelloOX2 here
HelloOX2 is an excellent tool to hack Symbian S60 3rd, 5th and Symbian^3 smartphones which makes it possible to install a root certificate by gaining full access to the phone’s system files. With this capability, you can install anything you want on your phones without the need to worry about the annoying certificate error!
2.

Go to the OPDA Website, get registered and login to your account.
Click on the “Apply Certificate” tab, enter the model number and the IMEI of your phone and then click on “Submit and Upload” button.
It will usually take up 24 hours for your certificate and key file to be generated and uploaded. To check the status of your certificate click on “My Certificate” tab. If the certificate is ready for the download you will see something as follows:

Download the certificate and the key file on to your computer.Also download the SisSigner tool to sign your HelloOX2 application.
Open the SisSigner, load the HelloOX2.sis, certificate and the key file as shown below and click on “Sign”. Leave the “Key File Password” field blank.
- Your HelloOX2 application is now signed and ready for the installation.
3. Install the signed HelloOX2 application on your phone and run it to start the hacking process, which is completely automatic. Within a minute your phone will be hacked. Once this is done, say goodbye to the annoying certificate error and install any application.
I hope you like this post. Express your opinion through comments. Enjoy!

How to use Windows 7 without activation.

2011-06-27T12:10:00.000+01:00

Most of you might be aware of the fact that it is possible to use Windows 7 and Vista for 120 days without activation. This is actually possible using the slmgr -rearm command which will extend the grace period from 30 days to 120 days. However in this post I will show you a small trick using which it is possible to use Windows 7 without activation for approximately an year! Here is a way to do that.

1. Goto “Start Menu -> All Programs -> Accessories” . Right click on “Command Prompt” and select “Run as Administrator“. If you are not the administrator then you are prompted to enter the password, or else you can proceed to step-2.

2. Now type the following command and hit enter

slmgr -rearm

3. You will be prompted to restart the computer. Once restarted the trial period will be once again reset to 30 days. You can use the above command for up to 3 times by which you can extend the trial period to 120 days without activation.

4. Now comes the actual trick by which you can extend the trial period for another 240 days. Open Registry Editor (type regedit in “Run” and hit Enter) and navigate to the following location

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\SoftwareProtectionPlatform

5. In right-side pane, change value of SkipRearm to 1.

6. Now you will be able to use the slmgr -rearm command for another 8 times so that you can skip activation process for another 240 days. So you will get 120 + 240 = 360 days of free Windows 7 usage.

120 days using “slmgr -rearm” command before registry edit
+
240 days using “slmgr -rearm” command after registry edit
= 360 Days

Introduction

2011-06-27T11:22:00.000+01:00

Welcome to the first post on this blog. as part of our commitment to making everything online FREE, we will be sharing with you stuff, news and any other thing you might require to maximise you internet experience.

Each day, you will receive a post like this one. Some like today's, will include links to a downloadable software or other stuffs that people have been asking me to help provide for them. As you read each message, be sure to have a writing material nearby.

We will be referring to various websites that will enhance your Copmuter literacy. To give you a running start with concpets found in this blog page, we recomend that you visit our main sit http://www.unn.me.pn and signup to a special teleclass with Ojengwa Bernard as he discusses 'The Internet myths' and answers many of the questions hacve for him as they joourney down the path of cyber freedom.