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Microworkers FAQ

2011-01-30T07:02:00.000+00:00

What is Microworkers?

Microworkers is an innovative, International online platform that connects Employers and Workers from around the world. Our unique approach guarantee Employers that a task paid is a task successfully done, while at the same time guaranteeing Workers that a job completed is a job paid.

Just as its name suggest, the tasks assigned to Workers and paid for by Employers are simple and quick, mostly completed in a few minutes, thus, are called “micro jobs”. These tasks include simple sign-ups, social bookmarking tasks, forum participation, website visits, rating videos or articles, voting up contest entries, adding comments, suggesting leads, creating backlinks, writing reviews or articles, downloading applications and so much more. Joining Microworkers is free, and as an International site, anyone from any country can be a member.

Who are the Employers?

Anyone can be an Employer. If you own anonline business a blog, a contest entry or simply need referrals for your favorite programs, Microworkers is definitely the place to come and have your small tasks assigned to tens of thousands of active Workers who are always ready to complete your job.

Whether you need traffic for your website, comments or a fresh post for your blog, a review for your new product or put your article to the front page of popular bookmarking sites, hiring Workers from our program ensures you affordable, quick and top quality results.

Who are the Workers?

Anyone can also be a Worker. You can be a stay-at-home mom, a student who needs extra spending money, or if you simply love helping others while making some extra cash alongside, this is the place for you. Joining Microworkers as a Worker does not mean you are employed by the site. Instead, you will be working as a freelancer. With that, you can work as much or as little as you want. At the same time, your potential for earning is also limitless since you can accept all the jobs you believe you are capable of completing, and get paid for it.

Can I be a Worker and Employer at the same time?

Absolutely. Signing up to Microworkers allows you take “micro jobs”. At the same time, when you have job campaigns you wish to run, you can use the same account to do so. You simply have to click on the Start a Campaign option, and post your job. What’s more, you can use your earnings as a Worker to fund your campaign as an Employer.

I am a Worker…

Can I have more than one account?

No. There is no need to maintain more than one account and it is against Microworkers’ Guidelines. If you’ve lost your login information, you can request to have it sent to your Email address. If you are caught having more than one account, your account(s) will be terminated, your IP address(es) will be banned, your payments will be forfeited and you can no longer participate in Microworkers’ program in the future.

How do I earn money?

Upon signing up for the Microworkers program, you automatically receive a $1 sign-up bonus to your account.

If you wish to look for “micro jobs”, click on the Available Jobs link and browse through the hundreds of listed tasks. Each task will display a set of instructions, the time to complete it and the amount you will earn for finishing the job. If you believe you can finish the task, click on I accept this job and the page will display a form where you can enter the proof required by the Employer. Otherwise, click on Not interested in this job.

What is a Success Rate and why do I need to maintain it?

The Microworkers Success Rate ensures Employers that they get quality results from the campaigns they are running. The feature prevents workers from posting spam or fake proofs, and low-quality output of the tasks they perform. As a Worker, you must maintain your actual Success rate (1) above 75% at all times.
Temporary Success rate (2) is real-time rate used to determine how many jobs you can accept per day.

Poorly performed tasks will give you a not satisfied rating and will pull your Success Rate down. To maintain a high Success Rate, make sure to accept only tasks you can finish.

I have been misrated by my Employer. What should I do?

If you believe you have been misrated for a job properly completed, let us know and we will look into the issue. Just open task details page and click on the “Submit a Complain” link. After reviewing your claims, we will credit your account with the amount due to you. Otherwise, if the Employer misrated you for an appropriate reason, you will not be credited. Microworkers will maintain a fair approach in dealing with work disputes and will be looking after to what is best for both Employers and Workers.

Where can I view the jobs I have completed?

Once the Worker submits a proof, the job will appear in the list of Tasks I finished. Tasks not yet rated by Campaign owners (Employers) will show a gray icon. Tasks rated with Satisfied appear with green icon. Tasks rated with Not satisfied will display a red icon.

Where can I view my earnings and account activity?

If you want to view your account transactions click on the My Account tab. The page will display your personal information, account details, current balance, referral bonuses and the transaction history which lists all the payments for your finished “micro jobs”.

To view your withdrawal history, click on the Withdraw tab from the top menu. All withdrawals with the corresponding Date, Withdrawal method, Status and Amount will be listed in the page.

How and when do I get paid?

Once the Employer reviews your submitted task and approves it, the amount assigned for that particular job is automatically credited to your account balance. If Employer forgets to rate tasks, they will be automatically closed by the system in 168 hours and will be rated “Satisfied”. Likewise, the money will be deposited in your account. No task will remain open for a long period of time.

When your earnings reach $9, you will be allowed to place a withdrawal request. To do so, click on the Withdraw tab from the top menu, then click on the Place a new Withdrawal Request link. You can choose a withdrawal method between PayPal Moneybookers or Alertpay, as well as the amount you only wish to withdraw.

Payments are processed within 30 days after placing a withdrawal request. More payment options will be available in the future. Announcements will be made once they are implemented.

Is there a benefit to inviting others to Microworkers?

When you refer someone to Microworkers through your referral link, you will receive $1 in your account balance once the same Worker earns a minimum of $25. The more you invite, the more referral earnings you get!

To find your unique referral link, click on My Account and look under the Referrals & Bonuses section.

Can I use my earnings to run my own campaign?

Certainly. Simply go to your My Campaigns page, click on the Start a Campaign option, and post your job.

What’s the best way to stay up-to-date on what’s new on Microworkers?

You can join us on Facebook or follow our tweets on Twitter. We also have a Microworkers newsletter with interesting jobs, weekly tips, news and more.

I am an Employer…

How do I start my Campaign?

Go to your My Campaigns page, click on the Start a Campaign option, and post your job. You can choose to run your campaign to US Workers or International Workers. Then, select a category for your campaign, put in the number of minutes a Worker must need to finish the job and the number of positions you are willing to pay for. The page automatically displays the total cost of your campaign for you to make adjustments, if necessary.

To describe your campaign, put in an appropriate Title, a list of instructions for the Workers to follow and the proof you require to ensure the job is completed.

All campaigns submitted are reviewed for approval before displayed to the Workers. Be sure to include all details about the campaign with clear and easy to understand steps.

What is a Campaign Speed?

The “Speed” box is where you can indicate how fast you want your campaign to run. This is one of the best features of Microworkers. You can choose values between 1 to 1000 (1 being the slowest and 1000 as the fastest), which you can modify anytime during your campaign. This feature gives you more control over your campaigns and the results you expect.

To make sure your campaigns run just how you want it to, Microworkers even implemented a Pause and Resume option.

How do I fund my campaign?

Click on the “Deposit” link from the top menu. You can fund your campaign using any of these available payment processors:

- PayPal
- Alertpay
- Moneybookers

There is no deposit fee.

Money will be available in your account immediately after you confirm the transaction.

I wish to add more positions to my currently running Campaign

No problem. Microworkers has a wonderful feature that allows Employers to add more positions to their campaign even while it is on progress. That will save you a lot of time and trouble of having to begin another campaign and wait for it to be approved.

Simply access your campaigns page, choose the campaign you want to add positions to and click on the Add positions link. Then, you can type in the number of positions you wish to add.

How do I Rate my Workers?

Microworkers has implemented a system that allows checking and rating campaigns more manageable for you.

Go to your campaigns page and choose the campaign you wish to review. A list of all submitted proofs will be displayed in a single page. To view all submitted proofs in one screen, click on Expand. You do not have to individually open each task to check the proof.

With the Select All box, approving tasks by the hundreds can be done with just a single click. However, should you prefer to approve each task one by one, you can always do so.

A “Satisfied” rating automatically transfers the fund you have set aside to each individual Worker’s account. You would only be paying for tasks you rate “Satisfied”.

No tasks should remain open for a long period of time. If you forget to rate your Workers’ tasks, they will automatically be closed by the system in 168 hours and will be rated “Satisfied”.

What happens if I decide to stop my campaign?

Should you want to end your campaign even before all available positions has run out, simply click on the Stop link in your campaigns page. When that happens, funds for the unused positions will be credited back to your account.

ODESK FAQ

2011-01-30T06:15:00.000+00:00

Get a clear idea about ODESK on how to earn as a freelancer A to Z

The On Demand Global Workforce – oDesk

How do I find someone to hire?

It's pretty easy. You start by posting a job — you fill out a well-rounded description of the kind of work, and the kind of contractor, you're looking for. You can post it publicly, or keep it private. If it's public, you'll quickly have skilled contractors from around the world sending you applications.

Hiring works pretty much like the in-person process for in-house jobs: You read cover letters and resumes, and here at oDesk you also have the contractors' portfolios, test results, oDesk work histories and feedback ratings to consider before you even contact anyone. You select candidates to interview, invite them to set up a time with you, and conduct your interview via phone, IM, email, webcam — however you're comfortable. Once you find the right contractor, hiring is a simple click.

If you keep a job private, you can search our contractor database to find candidates you'd like to talk to. You invite them to view your job post, and then you can set up the interview process.
Some employers are initially worried about hiring someone without a face-to-face interview, but the information and tools oDesk puts in your hands can actually give you a better idea of what an oDesk applicant offers than you'd get sitting across a table from someone while you scan their one-page resume.

What kind of work is done here?

Pretty much anything that can be done remotely — we're often surprised by the ever-increasing variety of work performed on oDesk. You can hire talented web and software developers, writers, graphic designer, customer service representatives, marketers and much more. You can see the full list here. Drop a relevant keyword into the contractor search bar and you might be surprised how many people worldwide are offering the services you need.

How good are the contractors?

There are a lot of really good contractors here — we know because we hire them, too. You have a far larger talent base here than you'll find within commuting range of your office. oDesk's hundreds of thousands of professionals offer a broad range of skills and capabilities. Finding the best contractors, and the ones best-suited to the work you need done, is easy. oDesk gives employers tools including free online testing, feedback scores, portfolios, job preferences and more to evaluate contractors. These tools have helped thousands of employers and contractors form long-lasting work relationships of a year and more.

Do I need to post a job to use oDesk?

To hire a contractor, you must first post a job. Jobs can be posted privately if you do not wish to make your posting available to the entire oDesk network. You can also sign up with oDesk to use some of the free tools without posting a job.

How do I write a good job post?

It's not too much different from writing an ad for an in-house job — except that the job form and the examples oDesk provides with it make it easier to narrow down just what you're looking for, in clear language that should attract the kinds of contractors you need. Being specific about the work and communication skills you need, your timeline and other details helps attract more contractors who can work within your requirements. You might browse similar ads already posted and decide which would attract you to apply and which you'd be inclined to skip.

Should I post an hourly or fixed-price job?

It depends. oDesk recommends hourly jobs for most ongoing work efforts, but fixed-price jobs can be appropriate for smaller, well-defined projects.

Hourly jobs are more flexible — you can add to a contractor's work, even retain her for an entirely different task after the first job is complete, without having to renegotiate or repost a job. You have full access to oDesk’s time tracking and Work Diary functions, and the "hour paid is an hour that was worked" guarantee behind it. We've found that the most talented and in-demand contractors gravitate toward the hourly work, and that hourly jobs have led to long-lasting, very successful relationships.

Fixed-price jobs may work best for shorter tasks with a very defined scope. They can also be used as test tasks to give contractors as a trial run before hiring them to longer, hourly work.

What is the difference between independent contractors and agencies?

A key difference in the oDesk network is that all work is completed by individuals rather than companies, but many of the individual contractors are associated with larger agencies. Independent contractors work by themselves, while agency contractors work as part of an agency. Click on the agency name in the profile to see details about the agency.

Do I hire a contractor as a 1099 contractor or W-2 employee?

U.S.-based companies hiring workers can classify them as either 1099 or W-2. While most U.S.-based contractors on oDesk are classified as 1099 workers - if you are interested in hiring W-2 employees at no additional cost, you can do so through oDesk Payroll. This service also allows you to use oDesk's high-visibility billing and management tools with your existing workers.

What is the oDesk Guarantee?

oDesk is the first and only service to guarantee that an hour billed is an hour worked and that an hour worked is an hour paid. Hourly work done using the oDesk Team collaborative software lets us take a lot of the uncertainty out of remote work. To learn more about the oDesk Guarantee, click here. And please read our oDesk Manifesto to see how we define — and celebrate — the rights of online employers and contractors.

How does oDesk make remote work work?

The problem with remote work is the remoteness. You can't sit in the same room for the job interview. Managers can't walk around and check on a worker's progress, and workers can't easily check in with their bosses or consult with colleagues. Payment is usually more complex and slower than internal payroll, and billing and record-keeping is a hassle. What oDesk does is eliminate all that.

oDesk brings robust assurances to the hiring process—each contractor can create a profile that's much more detailed than a resume, can upload portfolio pieces and take any of our dozens of skill tests. Feedback and work history are very clear, all giving you a better idea of a candidate's record and reputation than most in-person recruiting processes.

We also bring transparency to the management/work process. The oDesk Team application accurately logs hours and adds screen shots to the contractor’s Work Diary, giving an employer as good an idea of a contractor's progress as strolling around the office would. oDesk also offers have tools for chatting and sharing code and other information, all geared to foster greater confidence and collaboration.

The payment system is streamlined, swift and secure. After the timelog is reviewed, you're billed one total amount for however many contractors worked for you, in however many countries. We handle getting the money to those contractors, who in a matter of days can withdraw it by their chosen payment method.

How do I know the contractor worked all the hours billed?

An hour billed is an hour worked. You can review a contractors' Work Diaries at any time. They start each session with a work memo that lets you know what part of the job they're tackling, and you get desktop screen shots six times an hour, along with a graph charting their activity level. Learn more about the Work Diary here.

All of this information is also aggregated in the weekly financial reports, which you can review before signing off. For more in-depth information, you'd have to be a mind-reader.

Can I limit a contractor's hours?

Certainly. You can set a weekly limit on the number of hours that any contractor works for you. You can also modify this limit at any time if you and your contractor change the workload or expectations. Hours worked over the limit will not be billed to you.

How can I manage a team spread across a continent, or separated by oceans?

The Work Diary lets you keep up with their activity and see how team members are progressing. You can use your own email and chat systems, but oDesk also builds chat functionality into the oDesk Team application, along with tools for assigning and tracking tasks and and exchanging links, desktop images and other information. Basically, you can have at your fingertips as much information as you could get doing a cubicle-by-cubicle check-in around your office.

How do I know I'm getting quality work?

Quality is in the eye of the beholder, but oDesk gives you unprecedented ability to behold it. oDesk makes it possible to hire candidates with proven track records and to manage as closely and collaboratively as you like. Remote work offers many advantages over in-house hiring, such as a global talent pool, quick scalability, less overhead and greater rate flexibility. With oDesk, you get that without sacrificing the transparency and ability to manage that you'd have with everyone under one roof.

Can I use the oDesk tools with non-oDesk users?

Yes. You can register for an account without posting a job, then utilize the tools yourself, and even add some of your colleagues to your new oDesk account. You can have in-house staff logged into your oDesk team room to improve collaboration between them and your remote team. Just keep us in mind when you need additional resources—you can always post a job!

How much does it cost to join oDesk?

Nothing. Neither the contractor nor the employer pays anything to sign up with oDesk. There are no fees for posting jobs, creating profiles, applying to jobs, conducting interviews, nothing. oDesk makes money only when you pay for work done by your contractors.

How does oDesk make money?

What you see is what you pay.
Contractors get 90% of the advertised rates and oDesk takes the remaining 10%. This is true for all payments, whether they are hourly rates, fixed price jobs or bonuses.

How do I pay oDesk and my contractors?

You make the full payment to oDesk, and oDesk pays your contractors. The most common payment method is by credit card. Under some conditions, employers may pay by check; see the Payment Methods page for information.

When you pay for work, no costs are added to the rate you hired at; the contractor receives 90% of the payment and oDesk keeps 10%. This keeps the process simple, and the employer's paperwork to an absolute minimum — there's no difference for the employer between paying one contractor in Miami or three in Mumbai, Manila and Munich. It's also how we can make the oDesk Guarantee, and to stand firmly behind our dispute resolution policy.

Also note that you can set a limit on the number of hours your contractors work, to help keep jobs within budget.

Do I have to pay upfront?

No. Hourly jobs are paid weekly, after you've had three days to review your contractors' timelogs. Fixed-price jobs are paid as you and your contractor negotiate it—generally once the job is complete, though you may negotiate upfront or milestone payments along the way. oDesk does not ask you to put money into escrow, nor to make payments before the hours are worked or the related work is done.

What if there is a dispute?

Disputes are rare, thanks to the oDesk Work Diary feature, but we take resolution of any conflicts very seriously, and we live up to our guarantee that an hour worked is an hour paid, and an hour billed is an hour that was worked.

When there is a disagreement between employers and contractors over the number of hours worked, we first encourage them to work out the problem. If that fails, oDesk will step in to moderate. We do not evaluate the quality of work, but will focus on a careful review of all time logged to ensure the contractor was working on the job and following all policies and best practices. Fixed-price jobs are paid solely at the employer's discretion, and there is no dispute resolution process in such cases — the employer has the ultimate control.

Can employers pay US-based W-2 employees through oDesk?

Yes. While most U.S.-based contractors on oDesk are classified as 1099 workers, W-2 employees can also be hired through oDesk Payroll.

What's the pay rate for a contractor like me?

Pay rates vary, of course, based on the type of work, your skill level, work history and reputation. Check out what other contractors with similar skills are charging, and price yourself accordingly. New contractors often find it effective to price themselves a little below the average market rate at first, until they've landed the first few jobs that will give them the work history and feedback that can make it easier to find jobs at a higher pay rate.

How much money can I make? Can I get full-time work?

You set your rate, and you determine how many hours you're available to work. As you build your reputation through feedback scores and work history, you should find it easier to increase your rate and find more work, whether it be full-time with one employer or through a few. There is a lot of opportunity on oDesk, and how far you take it is up to you.

What kinds of employers are here?

Most oDesk employers are managers at small to medium-sized companies that are looking for contractors for everything from small fixed-price projects to long-term relationships of a year or more. They're looking for web developers, writers, graphic designers, call-center staff, data entry professionals, marketing experts, business consultants and more.

How do I get a job?

Start with the basics: First, post a profile and fill in your past work history and skills. Take a few online skill tests to verify your skills, and upload any relevant examples to your portfolio. Do your best to make sure that when an employer sees your application, he will be impressed. Then start applying for jobs! Try out small jobs first to accrue feedback and then go after the bigger fish. oDesk's forum, blog and newsletters often have more tips for landing your first jobs.

Should I apply for hourly or fixed price jobs?

Whichever you prefer. Most long-term work is done on an hourly basis, but fixed-price engagements may be a great way to get started with your first oDesk jobs and build the feedback that can help lead to longer-term opportunities. Note that only hourly work done online with oDesk Team benefits from the oDesk guarantee that an hour worked is an hour that will be paid.

How long does it take to get a job?

The first job is always the hardest; it can take some time and persistence to build an impressive profile and acquire your first job. Take free online skill tests to increase your job application quota and write detailed custom cover letters, and you should be able to get a job within a few weeks.

How can I improve my profile?

Take as many free skill tests as possible, upload work samples to your portfolio, include a portrait, and spend time editing and refining the text in your profile. Check the forums for more advice.

How do I know which employers are good?

Check out the feedback other contractors have left for the employers and take a look at the number of paid jobs they've completed on oDesk. And during the interview process, pay attention to your instincts, just as you would on an interview for an in-house job: Do you get a good "vibe" from this employer? Does the work challenge you, and will you bring your best to it? Are you comfortable with the pay, the deadlines and any requirements regarding hours, communication and deliverables? While you're selling the employer on you, don't forget to make sure you're sold on them.

Can my agency provide services on oDesk?

Of course. You can sign up on oDesk as the staffing manager of your agency. Then add individuals from your agency to your roster and apply to jobs. All rates and payments will be in your control as the staffing manager.

What is the oDesk Guarantee?

ODesk is the first and only service to guarantee that an hour billed is an hour worked and that an hour worked is an hour paid. Hourly work done using the oDesk Team collaborative software lets us take a lot of the uncertainty out of remote work. To learn more about the oDesk Guarantee, click here. And please read the oDesk Manifesto to see how we define the rights of online employers and contractors.

How does oDesk make remote work work?

The problem with remote work is the remoteness. You can't sit in the same room for the job interview. Managers can't walk around and check on a worker's progress, and workers can't easily check in with their bosses or consult with colleagues. Payment is usually more complex and slower than internal payroll, and billing and record-keeping is a hassle. All oDesk does is eliminate all that.

ODesk also brings robust assurances to the hiring process — each contractor can create a profile that's much more detailed than a resume, can upload portfolio pieces and take any of our dozens of skill tests. Feedback and work history are very clear, all giving your future employer a better idea of a your record and reputation than most in-person recruiting processes.

ODesk also brings transparency to the management/work process. The oDesk Team application accurately logs hours, and adds screen shots to the contractor’s Work Diary, giving an employer as good an idea of a contractor's progress as strolling around the office would. There are tools for chatting and sharing code and other information, all geared to foster greater confidence and collaboration.

The payment system is streamlined, swift and secure. After the timelog is reviewed and payments processed, you're paid one total amount for however many employers you worked for, in however many countries. We handle charging all those employers, and in a matter of days you can withdraw it by your chosen withdrawal method.

Do I have to use oDesk software to work?

Nope. Your actual work will be done with whatever tools you and your employer agree on, and you'll handle communication methods the same way. The oDesk Team application logs time and enables collaboration, and you'll need that for hourly work to qualify for the "hour worked is an hour paid" guarantee. You'll also find a number of tools that, if you and your employer want to use them, will make collaborating across long distances a breeze.

Do I have to do all my work on a “timeclock”?

We don't make anyone "clock in" to work through oDesk. Many of our jobs are fixed-price, in which hours need not be logged—but more than 90% of the work done here is hourly, using our Team application, because it enables our "hour worked is an hour paid" To learn more about the oDesk Guarantee, click guarantee, and it fosters closer, more successful collaborations and leads to long-term relationships between employers and contractors.
When you log your hours using oDesk Team, you're giving your employer more confidence, and giving yourself our guarantee of prompt, full payment for your work.

Does oDesk spy on me?

No. The oDesk Team application takes snapshots of your desktop six times an hour, and tells you when it's doing so. You can see those snapshots in your Work Diary and even delete the shot for a given block of time. Your activity level is logged in terms of frequency of keyboard and mouse clicks, but there is no keystroke logging or any other kind of data gathering. We think oDesk Team is less intrusive than the physical and electronic environments within most major corporate employers, and what data is gathered serves as much to protect the contractor as to inform and assure the employer.

How do I communicate with my employer and deliver the finished work?

However you (and the employer) like. We create an environment that makes hiring, managing and payment easy. How you and the employer want to actually get the work done and delivered is up to you, just like in any remote-work relationship.

Can I find full-time work on oDesk?

Yes. Some contractors find a single employer who provides a full-time workload, and many fill out their desired work week with a small number of long-term employers. oDesk encourages ongoing work relationships, and you can take your ability to build a solid work history and high feedback score as far as you can.

How many jobs can I apply to?

Applying for jobs is always free. oDesk does limit the number of jobs a new contractor can apply for; a new contractor who has no feedback and has passed no skills tests can apply for two to five jobs at a time. A contractor who has taken four or more tests, or has earned feedback of 4.0 or higher, can apply to the maximum number of jobs, 20 at one time. There's no cost to increase your quota or to apply to any number of jobs.

Are there membership fees for contractors?

No (and none for employers, either). Everything is free — joining, filling out your profile and portfolio, taking skills tests, applying and interviewing for jobs, using the oDesk Team application, and working (for which you get paid.)

How does oDesk make money?

For hourly jobs, you set your rate and oDesk adds a small surcharge equal to 10% of what the employer pays. So you always get paid what you asked for. For hourly jobs, this means the fee is 10% of the employer's bill rate, or about an 11.11% markup above your pay rate. For bonuses or fixed-price jobs, the fee is 10% of the amount the employer has opted to pay.

How can oDesk guarantee payment to contractors?

oDesk gives employers a series of tools to manage the work being done by contractors. If the time is being logged correctly and the contractor is doing relevant work, filling out accurate work memos, and staying in touch with the employer, we assume the work logged is valid and bill the employer.

What if there is a dispute?

Disputes are rare, thanks to the Work Diary feature, but we take resolution of any conflicts very seriously, and we live up to our guarantee that an hour worked is an hour paid, and an hour billed is an hour that was worked.

When there is a disagreement between employers and contractors over the number of hours worked, we first encourage them to work out the problem. If that fails, oDesk will step in to moderate. We do not evaluate the quality of work, but will focus on a careful review of all time logged to ensure the contractor was working on the job and following all policies and best practices. Fixed-price jobs are paid solely at the employer's discretion, and there is no dispute resolution process in such cases — the employer has the ultimate control.

How do I get paid?

We've made it easy for you to get paid, no matter where you are. For U.S.-based contractors, we can deposit your earnings directly into your bank account. For U.S. and international contractors, we offer MoneyBookers, wire transfers — and the favorite of many contractors — the Payoneer debit MasterCard, which works everywhere a regular MasterCard would work. You'll find full details of our payment methods here.

What about taxes?

Contractors in the U.S. will fill out a W-9 form and oDesk will provide the 1099 form for the IRS at the end of the year. oDesk does not withhold taxes, and, as with any income for contractors, you are responsible for making quarterly tax payments as may be necessary. International contractors are responsible for reporting their earnings to the appropriate tax agencies.

Can I get healthcare and retirement benefits through oDesk?

Yes. If you're a U.S.-based contractor looking to get benefits while working through oDesk, you can do so by enrolling in one of the programs without decreasing your pay. You may also qualify not only for affordable healthcare plans, but also for 401(k) and other benefits exclusively available to W-2 employees. See details here.

How does oDesk protect intellectual property?

Every registered contractor in the oDesk network has a signed Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) with oDesk. That contractual protection is passed to the employer on any active oDesk contract as long as work and payment are performed through oDesk. See the NDA. Additionally, you may request any contractor to sign your own NDA.

Do you have a referral program?

Yes—you can earn money when someone you refer to oDesk becomes an active user.

What is the oDesk Manifesto for online work?

oDesk believes that the best approach to online work is the one that creates success for both employers and contractors. As the first and only service to guarantee that an hour billed is an hour worked and that an hour worked is an hour paid, oDesk has long held these Manifesto principles dear.
Please consider the Manifesto a declaration: Don't settle for less than you deserve.

Does oDesk have an iPhone App?

Yes!
Download your free oDesk App.
The oDesk iPhone App gives you literal visibility of your online team no matter where you are:

• See all contractors in your team room grouped by current work status — Working Now, Worked in the Last 24 Hours, Other

• View each team member's latest work memo, local time, 24-hour work sparkline, and latest snapshot

• Check complete Work Diaries including memos, full-size snapshots, activity indicator, billing status, timestamp, and active window for any date

The App is designed for both employers and contractors.

Payment Methods

About Credit Card Authorization

* oDesk will charge 2 small amounts to your card, totaling less than $10.00.
* Before you make a hire, you will be prompted to verify these two amounts.
* Please note that the 2 charges can take up to 4 days to appear on your statement.
* The charges will be automatically refunded after 14 days.
* Learn more about credit card verification.

* Withdrawals

Method Fees Account Status Actions

Payoneer Debit Card
$2 per withdrawal.Additional activation and maintenance fees charged by Payoneer.

Card activation – U.S. $9.95 Per card One time - when card is first loaded
Monthly card account maintenance $3.00
ATM Withdrawal - outside U.S. $2.15 *

Moneybookers : $1 per withdrawal.Additional currency exchange and commercial fees charged by Moneybookers.

PayPal : $1 per withdrawal.Additional currency exchange and commercial fees charged by PayPal.

Direct Deposit/ACH : Free payments to US banks.

Wire Transfer : $30 per withdrawal to Bangladesh.

Title to tags plugin for wordpress

2011-01-29T16:47:00.000+00:00

This plugin automatically converts keywords in a post title to tags upon saving. It includes a user-editable list of words you want the plugin to ignore, which by default includes the more obviously-useless words like “I” or “wasn’t.” You can also reset the list back to defaults by checking a box in the config page.

* Converts keywords in post titles to tags

* Includes user-editable list of words to be ignored

* Ignore list can be reset to default at any time

* Converts on save, not publish.

* Does not convert if there are already tags assigned.

WPMU adminstrators take note: this plugin is especially helpful if you’re building a community-based site where tagging is important and your bloggers are not always diligent about tagging.

Download : Titles to Tags plugin for wordpress

Server role details in windows server 2003

2010-10-29T05:41:00.000+01:00

Server role means to a computer which perform a certain role in windows server 2003 or server family. After installing Windows Server successfully it is time to configure the server to play a certain role. When you logon in Windows Server for first time a window will open name Manage Your Server. See below picture

From here you may configure your server for what kind of role the server should play. Before you configure about what kind of role your server should play have a look in server role details below

File Server Provides convenient, centralized access to files and directories for individual users, departments, and entire organizations. Choosing this option allows you to manage user disk space by enabling and configuring disk quota management and to provide improved file system search performance by enabling the Indexing service.

Print Server Provides centralized and managed access to printing devices by serving shared printers and printer drivers to client computers. Choosing this option starts the Add Printer Wizard to install printers and their associated Windows printer drivers. It also installs Internet Information Services (IIS 6.0) and configures Internet Printing Protocol (IPP) and installs the Web-based printer administration tools.

Application Server (IIS, ASP.NET) Provides infrastructure components required to support the hosting of Web applications. This role installs and configures IIS 6.0 as well as ASP.NET and COM+.

Mail Server (POP3, SMTP) Installs POP3 and SMTP so that the server can act as an e-mail server for POP3 clients.

Terminal Server Provides applications and server resources, such as printers and storage, to multiple users as if those applications and resources were installed on their own computers. Users connect with the Terminal Services or Remote Desktop clients. Unlike Windows 2000, Windows Server 2003 provides Remote Desktop for Administration automatically. Terminal Server roles are required only when hosting applications for users on a terminal server.

Remote Access/VPN Server Provides multiple-protocol routing and remote access services for dial-in, local area networks (LANs) and wide area networks (WANs). Virtual private network (VPN) connections allow remote sites and users to connect securely to the network using standard Internet connections.

Domain Controller (Active Directory) Provides directory services to clients in the network. This option configures a domain controller for a new or existing domain and installs DNS. Choosing this option runs the Active Directory Installation Wizard.

DNS Server Provides host name resolution by translating host names to IP addresses (forward lookups) and IP addresses to host names (reverse lookups). Choosing this option installs the DNS service, and then starts the Configure A DNS Server Wizard.

DHCP Server Provides automatic IP addressing services to clients configured to use dynamic IP addressing. Choosing this option installs DHCP services and then starts the New Scope Wizard to define one or more IP address scopes in the network.

Streaming Media Server Provides Windows Media Services (WMS). WMS enables the server to stream multimedia content over an intranet or the Internet. Content can be stored and delivered on demand or delivered in real time. Choosing this option installs WMS.

WINS Server Provides computer name resolution by translating NetBIOS names to IP addresses. It is not necessary to install Windows Internet Name Service (WINS) unless you are supporting legacy operating systems, such as Windows 95 or Windows NT. Operating systems such as Windows 2000 and Windows XP do not require WINS, although legacy applications on those platforms may very well require NetBIOS name resolution. Choosing this option installs WINS.

Microsoft Download center A-Z

2010-10-28T20:59:00.000+01:00

Download the microsoft a-z download in emdadblog. You can download all microsoft products such as office, security, games, windows xp, windows seven, windows server and so on.

The advantages of Active Directory

2010-10-27T20:05:00.000+01:00

Most computers running Windows XP Professional on large networks are clients in an Active Directory domain running Windows 2000 Server or Windows Server 2003. Much like a phone book acts as a directory of people’s phone numbers and street addresses, Active Directory acts as a directory for resources on a network. Active Directory catalogs information about all the objects on a network, including users, computers, and printers, and makes that information available throughout a network. Active Directory provides a consistent way to name, find, manage, and secure information about these resources.

In a workgroup environment, each computer running Windows XP Professional is responsible for maintaining its own security database. Local user accounts are used to log on to the computer and to control access to resources on the computer. Security and administration in a workgroup are distributed. You must create local user accounts on each computer, and although you can often manage a computer remotely, you must manage each computer separately. The larger the network you are working with, the more overhead this distributed management creates. Active Directory simplifies the security and administration of resources throughout a network (including the computers that are part of the network) by providing a single point of administration for all objects on the network. Active Directory organizes resources hierarchically in domains, which are logical groupings of servers and other network resources. Each domain includes one or more domain controllers. A domain controller is a computer running Windows 2000 Server or Windows Server 2003 on which Active Directory is installed. The domain controller stores a complete replica of the domain directory. To simplify administration, all domain controllers in the domain are peers. You can make changes to any domain controller, and the updates are replicated to all other domain controllers in the domain.

One big advantage that Active Directory provides is a single logon point for all network resources, so a user can log on to the network with a single user name and password, and then access any resources to which the user account is granted access. An administrator can log on to one computer and administer objects on any computer in the network. Windows XP Professional provides a wide range of security settings that you can enforce. You can enforce these settings locally by configuring them on each computer (and that is the way you have to do it in a workgroup environment). In an Active Directory environment, you can use a feature named Group Policy to enforce settings on all computers on the network. This allows the network administrator to make changes faster and improve network functionality without requiring user intervention to invoke changes.

How to show blog author or writer info in every blogger post ?

2010-10-26T06:05:00.000+01:00

The author or writer of any blog in blogger or wordpress is the main person who shares their great thought around the blogger world. So it is not a bad idea if you add a section about author or writer info in every blogger post . If you notice my blog, you noticed that little info is available in my every blog post like below picture

Now you may use this author or writer info in your every blogger post. See here how to do -

1. First login to Blogger and navigate to Design >>>>Edit HTML.

2. Download the full HTML as a backup in your computer for any unwanted accident.

3. Find out this ]]></b:skin> code

4.After finding this above code add the below code before ]]></b:skin>

5. After adding this above code again search this <data:post.body/> code in your HTML Template

6. Now add the below code immediately after <data:post.body/>

7. Before copy the above code in your blogger template you may edit this above code like below

* Your Name = Provide the blog writer or author name

* Image Url = To show your blogger or author image provide the image url in src='Image Url'

* Add any link over here = link the blog author or writer with social site such as Facebook, Twitter

* Then write something about author or writer in "Write something about yourself here"

Now save the Template and enjoy.

What is a Directory Service ?

2010-10-24T20:20:00.000+01:00

A directory service is a network service that identifies all resources on a network and makes that information available to users and applications. Directory services are important, because they provide a consistent way to name, describe, locate access, manage, and secure information about these resources.

When a user searches for shared folder on the network, it is the directory service that identifies and provides that information to the user.

Active Directory is the directory service in the Windows Server 2003 family. It extends the basic functionality of a directory service to provide the following benefits :

Domain Name System (DNS) integration

Active directory uses DNS naming conventions to create a hierarchical structure that provides a familiar, orderly, and scalable view of network relationship. DNS also functions to map host name, such as www.microsoft.com, to numeric TCP/IP addresses, such as 192.168.19.2.

Scalability

Active Directory is organized into sections that can store a large number of objects. As a result, Active Directory can expand as an organization grows. An organizational that has a single server with a few hundred objects can grow to thousands of servers and millions of objects.

Centralized Management

Active Directory enables administrators to manage distributed desktops, network services, and applications from a central location, while using a consistent management interface. Active Directory also provides centralized control of access to network resources by enabling users to log on only once to gain full access to resources throughout Active directory.

Delegated administration

The hierarchical structure of Active Directory enables administrative control to be delegated for specific segments of the hierarchy. A user authorized by a higher administrative authority can perform administrative duties in their designated portion of the structure. For example, a users might have limited administrative control over their workstation settings, and a department manager might have the administrative rights to create new users in an organization unit.

Windows Server 2003 Editions

2010-10-23T05:00:00.011+01:00

Windows Server 2003 is an incremental update to the platform and technologies introduced in Windows 2000. If you are coming to Windows Server 2003 with experience from Windows 2000 servers, you will find the transition a relatively easy one. If your experience is with Windows NT 4, welcome to the new world!

Windows Server 2003 is available in five editions. Each edition is developed to be used in a specific server role. This enables you to select the operating system edition that provides only the functions and capabilities that your server needs.

Web Edition : Windows Server 2003, Web edition, is designed to be used specifically as a Web Server. It is available only through selected partner channels and is not available for retail. Although computers running Windows Server 2003, Web Edition, can be member of an Active Directory domain, you can not run Active Directory on Windows Server 2003, Web Edition.

Small Business Server Editions : Windows Server 2003, Small Business Server Edition, delivers a complete business server solution for small businesses with up to 75 workstations and is available in two editions : Standard and Premium. Windows Small Business Server 2003 provides technologies and tools, including e-mail, shared documents and calendars, security-enhanced Internet access and data storage, reliable printing and faxing, and remote administration on a single server.

Standard Edition : Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition, is a reliable network operating system that delivers business solutions quickly and easily. This flexible server is the ideal choice for small business and departmental use. Use Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition, when your server does not require the increased hardware support and clustering features of Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition.

Enterprise Edition : Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Editions, has all the features in Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition. It also provides features not included in Standard Edition that enhance availability, scalability, and dependability. Windows server 2003, Enterprise Edition, is designed for medium to large business. It is the recommended operating system for applications, XML web services, and infrastructure, because it offers high reliability, performance and superior business value.

Datacenter Edition : Windows Server 2003, Datacenter Edition, is designed for business-critical and mission-critical applications that demand the highest levels of scalability and availability. The major difference between Windows Server 2003, Datacenter Edition and Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition, is that Datacenter Edition Supports more powerful multiprocessing and greater memory. In additions, Windows Server 2003, Datacenter Edition is available only through the Windows Datacenter program offered to Original Equipment Manufactures (OEMs).

Make your Games and Software Password Protected

2010-10-15T19:12:00.000+01:00

Password protected games and software helps you to make your games and software more secure. You can easily protect your games and software with this freeware software. Without providing correct password, none can use those password protected games and software in other computers. DOWNLOAD this software and install it in your computer.

How to use this Password Protected Software ?

After installing this password protect software open the program and you will see like below picture

Now from here click on open and locate .exe file. See below picture

After locating the .exe file give your password in Password Option twice and then click Protect. See below picture

After giving password on your games or software open the password protected games or software and windows will open asking you to give the password like below picture.

Your mission on "Make your Games and Software are password protected" is finished.

What is the OSI Model ?

2010-10-14T08:24:00.035+01:00

The OSI model is an architectural model that represents networking communications. It was introduced in 1978 by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) to standardize the levels of services and types of interactions for computers communicating over a network.

What does the OSI model do ?

The OSI model defines the generic tasks that are performed for network communication. You can think of each layer of the OSI model as a piece of software that performs specific tasks for that layer. Each layer communicates with the layer below and the layer above. Data that is transmitted over the network must pass through all layers.

How to use the OSI model ?

The OSI model is used as a common reference point when comparing the function of different protocols and types of network hardware. Understanding the OSI model is important for comparing different products.

The architecture of the OSI model :

The OSI model divides network communication into seven layers. Each layer has a defined networking function, as described in below

1. Application = The application layer provides the interface between the networking protocol stack and the software running on the computer. For example, this layer provides the interface for e-mail, file transfers, Telnet and File Transfer Protocol (FTP) applications. Applications use the services provided by applicationlayer protocols, which in turn use the services provided by the other layers beneath them.

2. Presentation layer = The presentation layer (sometimes referred to as the syntax layer) is responsible for translating each computer’s native syntax into a common transfer syntax readable by the other computers on the network. In some cases, the transfer syntax can provide functions such as data compression and encryption.

3. Session Layer = The session layer provides many functions involved in the regulation of the dialog between two computers communicating over the network. For example, the session layer sets up, regulates, and terminates exchanges between the applications at each end of the communication.

4. Transport Layer = The transport layer provides functions that complement those of the network layer, including guaranteed delivery (which uses packet acknowledgments to ensure data is received), flow control (which regulates transmission speed to avoid dropped packets), and end-to-end error detection (which enables the receiving system to detect damaged packets).

5. Network Layer = The network layer defines the functions that provide end-to-end communications between computers on different networks. Chief among these functions is routing, which enables computers to relay traffic through intermediate networks to a destination on a remote network any distance away. Other functions include packet sequencing, end-to-end error detection from the sender to the recipient, congestion control, and addressing. While the data-link layer is responsible for local traffic on a single network, the network layer is responsible for directing traffic to its ultimate destination.

6. Data-Link Layer = The data-link layer defines the interface between the network medium and the software running on the computer. Among the data-link layer functions are packet addressing (which allows computers to direct traffic to specific destinations on the local network); media access control (which allows multiple computers to share a single network medium without conflicting); and formatting the frame used to encapsulate data for transmission over the network. The data-link layer divides into two sublayers. The logical link control (LLC) sublayer controls elements such as error checking from node to node on the same LAN, frame synchronization, and flow control. The media access control (MAC) sublayer controls the movement of data packets to and from one network interface card (NIC) to another across a shared channel.

7. Physical Layer = The physical layer defines the nature of the network medium—the actual fabric of the network that joins all the computers together—and the nature of the signals transmitted over the medium. In most cases, the network medium is a form of copper cable that uses electric currents for signaling, but fiber-optic and wireless media are becoming increasingly prevalent.

How to change windows xp login screen ?

2010-10-13T05:50:00.000+01:00

Default login screen of windows xp make you boring. If you can change your login screen off and on I think it will not a bad idea. To change your windows xp login screen you need following files

1. Resource Tuner
2. logonUI.exe file

I have created a customized login screen here for your help. Download this Resource Tuner with crack and logonUI.exe free form here. DOWNLOAD

After downloading this files unzip the Login Screen by Emdad Khan.jar--> emdadblog.zip file and copy the emdadblog folder to WINDOWS\RESOURCE location. See below picture

Now run emdadblog(setup).exe (from emdadblog folder) to use this customized login screen for windows xp. If you wish to restore the previous login screen in windows xp, then use the emdadblog(restore).exe file.

Now log off and see that your loging screen has changed like below picture

Come to your own customized login screen. If you wish to use your own login screen rather then mine login screen you can do it. To use your own customized login screen for windows XP follow below steps

1. First install the Resource Tuner in your computer which you downloaded before.

2. Open logonUI.exe file with resource tuner.

3. Navigate to Bitmap and click on 100. See below picture

4. Now double click on 100 and choose a .bmp file of your own picture and replace with your previous .bmp picture. See below picture

5. You can also change other things such as "WELCOME" "LOGGING OFF" "SHUTDOWN" text message and so on with resource tuner.

6. After changing login screen according to you save it as logonUI.exe and move to emdadblog folder. Now run the emdadblog(setup).exe file to use your own customized login screen.

7. Now log off to see your customized login screen.

Mission accomplished

What is Malicious Software ?

2010-09-27T07:28:00.000+01:00

Malicious software, such as viruses, worms and Trojan horses, deliberately harm a computer and is sometimes referred to as malware. Spyware is a general term used to describe software that performs certain behaviors such as advertising, collecting personal information, or changing the configuration of the computer, generally without appropriately obtaining consent first. Other kinds of spyware make changes to the computer that are annoying and cause the computer to slow down or stop responding.

There are a number of ways spyware or other unwanted software appears on a computer, including software flaws and some Web browsers. A common method is to covertly install the software during the installation of other software that you want to install. Preventing the installation of malicious software requires that you understand the purpose of the software you intend to install, and you have agreed to install the software on the computer. When you install an application, read all disclosures, the license agreement, and the privacy statement. Sometimes the inclusion of unwanted software is documented, but it might appear at the end of a license agreement or privacy statement.

Consider the following scenario: You are deploying Windows 7 throughout the organization. To decide upon which operating system features to implement, you need to understand security risks that might be relevant to the organization. Take part in a class discussion about this scenario.

Question 1: What are common security risks that you must consider when deploying a new operating system?

Answer

During a desktop deployment, it is important to address any security risks that affect application compatibility, data loss, and user functionality. Some of the more common security risks are categorized as follows:

* Malware risks: Viruses, Trojan horses, spyware
* Data risks: Stolen laptops or removable universal serial bus (USB) hard drives
* Web browser risks: Malicious Web sites, phishing
* Network risks: Internal worm attacks, internal workstations that do not comply with organizational security policies

Question 2: How can you be sure that you have addressed the appropriate security risks before and after a desktop deployment?

Answer

Conduct a structured security risk management process that will help you to identify and assess risk, identify and evaluate control solutions, implement the controls, and then measure the effectiveness of the mitigation. Identifying security risks before a desktop deployment helps you to be proactive in mitigating and implementing solutions.

Intel to buy McAfee for $7.68 billion

2010-08-21T05:14:00.000+01:00

Intel plans to buy security company McAfee for $7.68 billion--the biggest acquisition in its 42-year history.

The chipmaker said Thursday it has entered into a definitive agreement to buy all of McAfee's common stock at $48 per share in cash. McAfee's stock closed Wednesday at $29.93, making Intel's offer a 60 percent premium.

The boards of both companies have approved the deal.

Security has become an essential element of online computing, on par with energy-efficient performance and connectivity, Intel said. But today's security isn't adequately addressing the array of new Net-connected machines on the market, such as mobile devices, TVs, cars, ATMs, and medical gadgets, according to Intel. Offering protection requires a new approach that can tie together software, hardware, and services, the company said.

"With the rapid expansion of growth across a vast array of Internet-connected devices, more and more of the elements of our lives have moved online," Intel CEO Paul Otellini said in a statement. "In the past, energy-efficient performance and connectivity have defined computing requirements. Looking forward, security will join those as a third pillar of what people demand from all computing experiences."

By integrating McAfee's core technology, Intel asserts that it can improve current products and offer new ones that can better secure both the cloud and devices used by consumers and businesses. Those include traditional computers and embedded products--any device where chips play a prominent role.

"Our view is that everywhere we sell a microprocessor, there is an opportunity to sell security software with it," Otellini said in a conference call.

The chipmaker also sees the acquisition as augmenting its wireless strategy.

"Hardware-enhanced security will lead to breakthroughs in effectively countering the increasingly sophisticated threats of today and tomorrow," Renee James, Intel senior vice president, said in a statement. "This acquisition is consistent with our software and services strategy to deliver an outstanding computing experience in fast-growing business areas, especially around the move to wireless mobility."

The number of connected devices is expected to grow from around 1 billion today to 50 billion in another 10 years, according to McAfee CEO Dave DeWalt. This growth will reshape opportunities in communications and commerce, he said in a video presentation, but cybercriminals and cyberterrorists will also take advantage of the Net's open architecture, putting users at risk and jeopardizing the future of the Internet. Tackling next-generation cybersecurity is a key reason and motivation for Intel and McAfee to join forces, DeWalt said.

The merger stems in part from projects that Intel and McAfee have already been working on together. The two companies have been collaborating for the past 18 months on ways to improve security, James noted in the conference call.

"After working alongside each other and recognizing that we share a common vision for improving security, it made good sense that we take this step," James said.

The first product resulting from the team-up will be released in early 2011, James said, though she didn't reveal any details.

The deal also continues Intel's strategy of growing its business by using software to enhance its hardware, added James, citing the company's 2009 acquisition of Wind River Systems as just one example.

The deal is expected to close following McAfee shareholder approval and regulatory clearances, which Intel is hoping will occur before year's end. Once the acquisition is finalized, McAfee will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary, tied to Intel's Software and Services Group.

Intel noted the McAfee management team has promised to stay on for many years after the acquisition closes. Intel also said it's committed to the McAfee brand and all McAfee products.

In initial trading Thursday, McAfee stock was surging toward Intel's offer price, up about 57 percent to around $47.16, while Intel's own shares were trending down about 3 percent to the vicinity of $18.90. Intel said it expects the integration of McAfee to slightly dilute earnings during the first year of combined operations due to merger-related costs but then have little effect in the second year.

Although Intel is paying a 60 percent premium for McAfee over the stock's closing price from Wednesday, Intel noted the premium is in the range of recent large software and security transactions and is reasonable given McAfee's growth and profitability and the added value that Intel and McAfee can create together.

The Intel acquisition of McAfee illustrates the trend of security proliferating through all the layers of technology, said IDC analyst Chris Christiansen.

"I think this is a dramatic acceleration in the previous trend of security going from boxes to board to chips," he said. "Intel can bring economies of scale and advanced chip management to McAfee, and McAfee has technology in messaging, Web, encryption and DLP, areas that Intel can use in a variety of ways. It represents a shift in the security market of security into systems, chip and storage management and other disciplines."

The news also makes Christiansen wonder whether Symantec might not be next as an acquisition target.

"We are going to see more and more security companies absorbed into system management," he said, noting that "Microsoft consolidated security into its system management division."

The McAfee acquisition fits nicely with Intel's purchase last year of Wind River, McAfee Chief Technology Officer George Kurtz noted. Intel bought the maker of embedded-systems software for $884 million.

"Given the current challenges in dealing with the proliferation of virulent malware, bringing software closer to silicon will provide a real advantage for consumers and businesses. Beating back the tide of malware proliferation by changing the game on the bad guys is an exciting proposition," Kurtz said in a blog post.

"McAfee's strategy of protecting the multitude of devices such as ATMs, printers, digital copiers, and cars fits with helping organizations better manage and protect the IP enabled mobile and embedded devices that run Wind River embedded and mobile software," Kurtz said. "This also dovetails nicely with McAfee's acquisition of Solidcore, a leader in dynamic whitelisting technology that already provides protection for millions of embedded devices."

Intel had already announced an acquisition this week, saying it plans to buy Texas Instruments' cable modem unit to broaden the markets for its Atom processor line.

Originally posted at Business Tech

What is a GPT Disk ?

2010-08-13T06:29:00.000+01:00

As operating systems evolve and hard disks grow larger, the inherent restrictions of an MBR partitioned disk limit the viability of this partitioning scheme as an option in many scenarios. Consequently, a new disk partitioning system has been developed: Globally unique identifier (GUID) partition table or GPT.

GPT contains an array of partition entries describing the start and end LBA of each partition on disk. Each GPT partition has a unique identification GUID and a partition content type. Also, each LBA described in the partition table is 64-bits in length. The GPT format is specified by the Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI), but is not exclusive to UEFI systems. Both 32-bit and 64-bit Windows operating systems support GPT for data disks on BIOS systems, but they cannot boot from them. The 64-bit Windows operating systems support GPT for boot disks on UEFI systems.

GPT disks features

GPT-based disks address the limitations of MBR-based disks. GPT disks support:

* 128 partitions per disk: This is a vast improvement over MBR-based disks.
* 18 Exabyte (EB) volume size: This is a theoretical maximum because hard disk hardware is not yet available that supports such vast volume sizes.
* Redundancy: The GPT is duplicated and protected by Cyclic Redundancy Checks (CRC).

You can implement GPT-based disks on Windows Server® 2008, Windows Vista, and Windows 7. You cannot use the GPT partition style on removable disks.

GPT architecture

On a GPT partitioned disk, the following sectors are defined:

* Sector 0 contains a legacy protective MBR. The protective MBR contains one primary partition covering the entire disk.

* The protective MBR protects GPT disks from previously-released MBR disk tools such as Microsoft MS-DOS FDISK or Microsoft Windows NT Disk Administrator.

These tools view a GPT disk as having a single encompassing (possibly unrecognized) partition by interpreting the protected MBR, rather than mistaking the disk for one that is unpartitioned.

* Legacy software that does not know about GPT interprets only the protected MBR when it accesses a GPT disk.

* Sector 1 contains a partition table header. The partition table header contains the unique disk GUID, the number of partition entries (usually 128), and pointers to the partition table.

* The partition table starts at sector 2. Each partition entry contains a unique partition GUID, the partition offset, length, type (also a GUID), attributes, and a 36 character name.

* The following table describes the partitions.

Partition	Type	Size	Description
A	EFI System Partition (ESP)	100 MB	Contains the boot manager, the files that are required for booting an operating system, the platform tools that run before operating system boot, or the files that must be accessed before operating a system boot. The ESP must be first on the disk. The primary reason for this is that it is impossible to span volumes when the ESP is logically between what you are attempting to span.
B	Microsoft Reserved (MSR)	128MB	Reserved for Windows components. This partition is hidden in Disk Management and does not receive a drive letter. Usage example: When you convert a basic GPT disk to dynamic, the system decreases the size of the MSR partition and uses that space to create the Logical Disk Manager (LDM) Metadata partition.
C	Operating system (OS)	Remaining Disk	Contains the OS and is the size of the remaining disk.

Question: How does a GPT partitioned disk on a 64-bit Windows 7 operating system use an MBR?

Answer

On a GPT partitioned disk, Sector 0 contains a legacy protective MBR. The protective MBR contains one primary partition covering the entire disk. The protective MBR protects GPT disks from previously released MBR disk tools such as Microsoft MS-DOS FDISK or Microsoft Windows NT Disk Administrator. These tools view a GPT disk as having a single encompassing (possibly unrecognized) partition by interpreting the protected MBR, rather than mistaking the disk for one that is unpartitioned. Legacy software that does not know about GPT interprets only the protected MBR when it accesses a GPT disk.

What is the differences between Internet Protocol Version IPv4 and IPv6 ?

2010-08-03T05:04:00.000+01:00

Internet Protocol Version IPv6 is a newer version of Internet Protocol Version IPv4. In IPv6 significant changes has been created to overcome the Internet Protocol Version IPv4 limitations. In IPv4 limitations include the following :

Limited address space: IPv4 uses only 32-bits to represent addresses. IANA has allocated the majority of these addresses.

Difficult routing management: IANA has not provisioned allocated IPv4 addresses for efficient route management. As a result, Internet backbone routers have over 85,000 routes in their routing tables.

Complex host configuration: Automatic configuration of IPv4 hosts requires that you implement DHCP.

No built-in security: IPv4 does not include any method for securing network data. You must implement Internet Protocol Security (IPSec) and other protocols to secure data on IPv4 networks, but this requires significant configuration and can be complex to implement.

Limited Quality of Service (QoS): The implementation of QoS in IPv4 relies on the use of TCP and User Datagram Protocol (UDP) ports to identify data. This may not be appropriate in all circumstances.

IPv6 improvements

IPv6 enhancements help enable secure communication on the Internet and over corporate networks. Some IPv6 features include the following:

Larger address space: IPv6 uses a 128-bit address space, which provides significantly more addresses than IPv4.

More efficient routing: IANA provisions global addresses for the Internet to support hierarchical routing. This reduces how many routes that Internet backbone routers must process and improves routing efficiency.

Simpler host configuration: IPv6 supports dynamic client configuration by using DHCPv6. IPv6 also enables routers to configure hosts dynamically.

Built-in security: IPv6 includes native IPSec support. This ensures that all hosts encrypt data in transit.

Better prioritized delivery support: IPv6 includes a Flow Label in the packet header to provide prioritized delivery support. This designates the communication between computers with a priority level, rather than relying on port numbers that applications use. It also assigns a priority to the packets in which IPSec encrypts the data.

Redesigned header: The design of the header for IPv6 packets is more efficient in processing and extensibility. IPv6 moves nonessential and optional fields to extension headers for more efficient processing. Extension headers are no more than the full size of the IPv6 packet, which accommodates more information than possible in the 40 bytes that the IPv4 packet header allocates.

What Are Public and Private IPv4 Addresses?

2010-07-27T06:29:00.000+01:00

Devices and hosts that connect directly to the Internet require a public IPv4 address. Hosts and devices that do not connect directly to the Internet do not require a public IPv4 address.

Public IPv4 addresses

Public IPv4 addresses must be unique. IANA assigns public IPv4 addresses. Usually, your ISP allocates you one or more public addresses from its address pool. The number of addresses that your ISP allocates to you depends upon how many devices and hosts that you have to connect to the Internet.

Private IPv4 addresses

The pool of IPv4 addresses is becoming smaller, so IANA is reluctant to allocate superfluous IPv4 addresses. Technologies such as Network Address Translation (NAT) enable administrators to use a relatively small number of public IPv4 addresses, and at the same time, enable local hosts to connect to remote hosts and services on the Internet.

IANA defines the following address ranges as private. Internet-based routers do not forward packets originating from, or destined to, these ranges.

Class	Mask	Range
A	10.0.0.0/8	10.0.0.0 - 10.255.255.255
B	172.16.0.0/12	172.16.0.0 - 172.31.255.255
C	192.168.0.0/16	192.168.0.0 - 192.168.255.255

Note: RFC3330 defines these private address ranges.

What is a Default Gateway?

2010-07-24T19:09:00.000+01:00

A default gateway is a device, usually a router, on a TCP/IP internet that forwards IP packets to other subnets. A router connects groups of subnets to create an intranet.

In an intranet, any given subnet might have several routers that connect it to other subnets, both local and remote. You must configure one of the routers as the default gateway for local hosts. This enables the local hosts to transmit with hosts on remote networks.

When a host delivers an IPv4 packet, it uses the subnet mask to determine whether the destination host is on the same network or on a remote network. If the destination host is on the same network, the local host delivers the packet. If the destination host is on a different network, the host transmits the packet to a router for delivery.

When a host on the network uses IPv4 to transmit a packet to a destination subnet, IPv4 consults the internal routing table to determine the appropriate router for the packet to reach the destination subnet. If the routing table does not contain any routing information about the destination subnet, IPv4 forwards the packet to the default gateway. The host assumes that the default gateway contains the required routing information.

In most cases, use a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server to assign the default gateway automatically to a DHCP client. This is more straightforward than manually assigning a default gateway on each host.

A default gateway is a device, usually a router a TCP/IP internet that forwards IP packets to other subnets

How to share a Printer over a network using Windows XP?

2010-07-23T03:26:00.000+01:00

To share a printer over a network using windows XP is helpful for a large business organization. To share a printer over a network using windows xp follow this

To share a Printer

1. First login to your windows XP with administrative right.
2. Click Start and Go to Control Panel
3. Click Printers and other hardware, and then click Printers and Faxes. (From category view)
4. In the Printers and Faxes folder, right click on the installed printer and choose Sharing. See below picture

Printer Share

Note : Make sure you've enabled File and Printer sharing for Microsoft Networks on network card's properties. See below picture

Printer Sharing

5. Now from the Sharing option choose "Share this Printer" and give a name. Then click apply and OK. See below picture

Printer sharing

That's it. The printer will immediately available for the other computers to use over the network.

To connect to the printer

From the desired computer to use the printer over a network follow this

1. Click start and go to control panel
2. Click Printers and other hardware, then click Add a Printer.(In category view)
3. A wizard will open, Click Next. See below picture

Printer sharing

4. From here choose "A network printer, or a printer attached to another computer" and click Next. See below picture

Printer sharing

5. In Next step you will get three options to connect to share printer. Choose the appropriate option and finish the wizard. See below picture

Now you are ready to use remote printer to do your job.

Mission accomplish

What is a SUBNET MASK ?

2010-07-21T07:46:00.002+01:00

A subnet mask defines the part of an IP address that is the network ID and the part of an IP address that is the host ID. A subnet mask is composed of four octets, similar to an IP address.

In simple IP networks, the subnet mask defines full octets as part of the network ID and host ID. A 255 represents an octet that is the part of the network ID, and 0 represents an octet that is part of the host ID. In complex IP networks, octets can be subdivided.

Why a subnet mask is required ?

When a computer delivers an IP packet, it uses the subnet mask to validate whether the destination is on the same network or on a remote network. If the destination is on the same network, the packet can be delivered by the computer. If the destination is on the different network, the computer must send the packet to a router for delivery.

To make you understand about subnet mask, I give you a simple example

Subnet Mask

In this above picture I have taken 3 users named emdadblog, blogspot, com.

For the first user Emdadblog I use 192.168.1.1 as a Host ID and 255.255.255.0 as a Subnet Mask.

For the Second user Blogspot I use 192.168.1.2 as a Host ID and 255.255.255.0 as a Subnet Mask.

For the Third user Com I use 192.168.2.1 as a Host ID and 255.255.255.0 as a Subnet Mask.

Now if I want to send a file through internet from Emdadblog to Blogspot, I can send the file easily. Because the subnet mask between Emdadblog and Blogspot are same. Although their Host ID is different but their Network ID are same

If I want to send to a file through internet from Emdadblog to Com, I can not send the file. Because Emdadblog user is using 192.168.1.0 Network ID and Com user is using 192.168.2.0 and their Network ID are not same. In this situation to send a file through internet from Emdadblog user to Com user, we need to use ROUTER.

Note : Router helps you to connect two different Network and it's works like as a connector.

Valid Subnet Masks
In a simple IP network, a subnet mask is composed of only 255s and 0s. Other values are not used. In addition, 255s appear at the beginning of the subnet mask and 0s appear at the end. In a valid subnet mask, 0s cannot be interspersed with 255s. Example of valid and invalid subnet masks are shown in the following table

Valid Subnet Mask	Invalid Subnet Mask
255.0.0.0	0.0.255.255
255.255.00	255.0.255.0
255.255.255.0	0.255.255.0

What is an Internet Protocol Version 4 (IPv4) address ?

2010-07-19T06:50:00.000+01:00

To troubleshoot network connectivity problems for your users, you must me familiar with Internet Protocol /IP address and how they work. Assign a unique Internet protocol version 4 /IPv4 address to each network computer, the IPv4 address the computer to other computers on the network.

Internet Protocol Version 4 / IPv4

Components of an Internet Protocol version 4/IPv4 address
IPv4 uses 32-bit addresses, so if you view the address in its binary format, it has 32 characters, as the following example shows:

11000000101010000000000111001000

IPv4 divides the address into four octets, as the following address shows :

11000000.10101000.00000001.11001000

To make the Internet Protocol Address more readable, binary representation of the address typically it in decimal form. For example :

192.168.1.200

The address, in conjunction with a subnet mask, identifies:
1. The unique identity of the computer, which is the host ID.
2. The subnet on which the computer resides, which is the network ID.
3. This enables a networked computer to communicate with other networked computers in a routed environment.

Internet Protocol address version 4 /IPv4 classes
The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) organizes IPv4 addresses into classes. The number of hosts that a network has determines the class of addresses that is required. IANA has named the IPv4 address classes from Class A through Class E.

Class A = Any IP address in which the first octet has a value between 1 and 127 is a part of a Class A network. there are only 126 available Class A network, each with up to 16,777,214 hosts.

Because Class A networks are very large, they are allocated to very large organizations. It is no longer possible for individual companies to obtains Class A Networks.

Class A subnet Mask is 255.0.0.0

Note : All IP address on the network 127.0.0.0 refer to the local host. The Internet Protocol / IP addre4ss on this network are used for diagnostics only.

Class B = An Internet Protocol / IP address in which the first octet has value between 128 and 191 is part of a Class B Network. There are 16,384 Class B Network, each with up to 65,534 hosts .Class B Networks are assigned to a variety of large companies and universities. For example, the 131.107.0.0 network is allocated to Microsoft Corporation.

Class B subnet Mask is 255.255.0.0

Class C = An Internet protocol / IP address in which the first octet has value between 192 to 223 is part of a Class C Network. There are 2,097,152 Class C Networks, each with up to 254 hosts.Class C address are assigned to many small and medium-size organization. In some cases, companies are assigned a Class C Network for each of their locations.

Class C subnet Mask is 255.255.255.0

Class D = An Internet protocol / IP address in which the first octet has value between 224 to 239 is part of a Class D Network. Class D address are not assigned to a individual hosts. Class D addresses are assigned to groups of computers called multicast groups. Using multicast groups is an efficient way to deliver information on a network when multiple hosts need the same information at the same time.

Class E = An Internet protocol / IP address in which the first octet has value 240 is part of a Class E Network. This Class E network are reserved for experimental use and are never used on TCP/IP networks except for the broadcast address. The address 255.255.255.255 is a broadcast. Packets addressed to this Internet Protocol Address are delivered to all host on the local network.

Broadcasts are used when applications are not configured with the Internet Protocol address of the host that they should be contacting. For example, Dynamic Host Control Protocol / DHCP clients use broadcasts to communicative with a DHCP server and obtain an Internet Protocol / IP address.

Deferences between Master Boot Record (MBR) and Globally Unique Identifier(GUID) Partition Table (GPT) Disk?

2010-07-16T20:27:00.000+01:00

When you install a disk in a computer that is running Windows 7, you can choose to select one of two partitioning schemes 1. Master Boot Record (MBR)-based partitioning scheme 2. Globally unique identifier (GUID) partition table (GPT)-based partitioning scheme.

The following are common reasons to partition a disk:

1. Separate operating system files from data and user files
2. Place applications and data files in the same location
3. Put cache, log, and paging files in a location separate from other files
4. Create multiboot setup environments

You can use Disk Management to perform disk-related tasks such as creating and formatting partitions and volumes, and assigning drive letters. In addition, you can use the diskpart command, along with other command-line utilities, to perform disk management tasks such as partitioning disks or converting disks from one partition scheme to the other.

What is an MBR Disk ?

The Master Boot Record (MBR) contains the partition table for the disk and a small amount of executable code called the master boot code. A bootable hard disk that contains an MBR is an MBR disk. The MBR is created when the disk is partitioned, is on the first sector of the hard disk, and contains a four-partition entry table describing the size and location of a partition on a disk using 32-bit Logical Block Address (LBA) fields. The size of the partition cannot exceed 2 TB. Most Windows 7 platforms, such as 32-bit and 64-bit SKUs running on motherboards with Basic Input/Output System (BIOS) firmware, require an MBR partitioned system disk and are not bootable with a larger capacity disk.

How MBR-based disks work ?

The MBR is stored at a consistent location on a physical disk, enabling the computer BIOS to reference it. During the startup process, the computer examines the MBR to determine which partition on the installed disks is marked as active. The active partition contains the operating system startup files.

Note: You can install the rest of the operating system on another partition or disk. In Windows 7, the active partition must contain the boot sector, boot manager, and related files.

Features of MBR-based disks

The MBR partition scheme has been around for a long time and supports both current and early desktop operating systems, such as the MS-DOS and the Microsoft® Windows NT® Server 4.0 operating system. Consequently, the MBR partition scheme is widely supported. However, the MBR partition scheme imposes certain restrictions. These include:

1. Four partitions on each disk: MBR-based disks are limited to four partitions. All of these can be primary partitions, or one can be an extended partition with logical volumes inside. You can configure the extended partition to contain multiple volumes.

2. A 2 Terabyte (TB) maximum partition size: A partition cannot be larger than 2 TB.

3. No redundancy provided: The MBR is a single point of failure, and if corrupted or damaged, it can render the operating system non-bootable.

Question: What are three restrictions of an MBR partitioned disk? Have you encountered these limitations in your organization, and if so, what did you do to work around them?

Answer : The restrictions are that MBR partitioned disks are limited to four partitions, a 2 TB maximum partition size, and there is no data redundancy provided.

Globally unique identifier partition table

What is a GPT Disk ?

As operating systems evolve and hard disks grow larger, the inherent restrictions of an MBR partitioned disk limit the viability of this partitioning scheme as an option in many scenarios. Consequently, a new disk partitioning system has been developed: Globally unique identifier (GUID) partition table or GPT.

GPT contains an array of partition entries describing the start and end LBA of each partition on disk. Each GPT partition has a unique identification GUID and a partition content type. Also, each LBA described in the partition table is 64-bits in length. The GPT format is specified by the Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI), but is not exclusive to UEFI systems. Both 32-bit and 64-bit Windows operating systems support GPT for data disks on BIOS systems, but they cannot boot from them. The 64-bit Windows operating systems support GPT for boot disks on UEFI systems.

GPT disks features

GPT-based disks address the limitations of MBR-based disks. GPT disks support:

a) 128 partitions per disk: This is a vast improvement over MBR-based disks.
b) 18 Exabyte (EB) volume size: This is a theoretical maximum because hard disk hardware is not yet available that supports such vast volume sizes.
c) Redundancy: The GPT is duplicated and protected by Cyclic Redundancy Checks (CRC).

You can implement GPT-based disks on Windows Server® 2008, Windows Vista, and Windows 7. You cannot use the GPT partition style on removable disks.

GPT architecture

On a GPT partitioned disk, the following sectors are defined:

a) Sector 0 contains a legacy protective MBR. The protective MBR contains one primary partition covering the entire disk.

b) The protective MBR protects GPT disks from previously-released MBR disk tools such as Microsoft MS-DOS FDISK or Microsoft Windows NT Disk Administrator.

These tools view a GPT disk as having a single encompassing (possibly unrecognized) partition by interpreting the protected MBR, rather than mistaking the disk for one that is unpartitioned.

a) Legacy software that does not know about GPT interprets only the protected MBR when it accesses a GPT disk.

b) Sector 1 contains a partition table header. The partition table header contains the unique disk GUID, the number of partition entries (usually 128), and pointers to the partition table.

c) The partition table starts at sector 2. Each partition entry contains a unique partition GUID, the partition offset, length, type (also a GUID), attributes, and a 36 character name.

d) The following table describes the partitions.

Partition	Type	Size	Description
A	EFI System Partition (ESP)	100 MB	Contains the boot manager, the files that are required for booting an operating system, the platform tools that run before operating system boot, or the files that must be accessed before operating a system boot. The ESP must be first on the disk. The primary reason for this is that it is impossible to span volumes when the ESP is logically between what you are attempting to span.
B	Microsoft Reserved (MSR)	128 MB	Reserved for Windows components. This partition is hidden in Disk Management and does not receive a drive letter. Usage example: When you convert a basic GPT disk to dynamic, the system decreases the size of the MSR partition and uses that space to create the Logical Disk Manager (LDM) Metadata partition.
C	Operating System (OS)	Remaining disk	Contains the OS and is the size of the remaining disk.

Question : How does a GPT partitioned disk on a 64-bit Windows 7 operating system use an MBR?

Answer : On a GPT partitioned disk, Sector 0 contains a legacy protective MBR. The protective MBR contains one primary partition covering the entire disk. The protective MBR protects GPT disks from previously released MBR disk tools such as Microsoft MS-DOS FDISK or Microsoft Windows NT Disk Administrator. These tools view a GPT disk as having a single encompassing (possibly unrecognized) partition by interpreting the protected MBR, rather than mistaking the disk for one that is unpartitioned. Legacy software that does not know about GPT interprets only the protected MBR when it accesses a GPT disk.

Which operating systems support to upgrade into windows 7/Seven ?

2010-07-16T14:16:00.000+01:00

Earlier version of windows operating system need to upgrade to Windows 7 because of various need. So it is need to know which windows operating system support to upgrade into windows 7 or Seven.

Following details help you to understand about supported operating systems to upgrade into windows 7 or Seven.

Supported operating system to upgrade into windows 7

Supported Windows Versions to upgrade windows 7 or seven

The following table identifies the windows operating system that you can upgrade directly to or migrate to Windows 7 or Seven

Windows Version	Supported Scenario	Remarks
Earlier version than Windows XP®	Clean Installation	Windows versions earlier than Windows XP do not support in-palace upgrade or migration to windows 7
Windows XP, Windows Vista	Migration	Windows XP and Windows Vista (without any Service Pack) do not support in-place upgrade to Windows 7. You can use WET or USMT to migrate the user state from these versions of Windows to any editions of Windows 7 with the exception to the Starter edition.
Windows Vista SP1, SP2	In-place upgrade	Windows Vista with Service Pack 1 or later is required to support in-place upgrades to Windows 7. There are limitations on which edition you can upgrade from and to.
Windows 7	Windows Anytime Upgrade	Windows 7 supports upgrades to higher editions with Windows Anytime Upgrade. There are limitations on which edition you can upgrade from and to.

Note: Windows Anytime Upgrade (WAU) provides a way to move to a more powerful edition of Windows 7. WAU pack includes DVD media, the Windows product key, and upgrade instructions.

Unsupported Windows versions to upgrade windows 7 or seven

Earlier versions of Windows lack the architectural similarity to Windows 7. Consequently, there is no direct mechanism for an in-place upgrade or migration to Windows 7 from earlier Windows operating systems.

You cannot directly upgrade to Windows 7 from an operating system earlier than Windows Vista with Service Pack 1. Instead, you can perform a clean installation of Windows 7 on a computer that is running an earlier version of Windows and then migrate any user-related settings and user data. If your current operating system is earlier than Windows XP, such as Windows 2000 or Windows 98, you must migrate the user-related settings and data manually because neither USMT nor WET supports these earlier versions of Windows.

Also be aware that computers running these earlier versions of Windows may not meet the minimum Windows 7 hardware requirements.

Note: There are limitations on the editions of Windows that you can upgrade from and to. For example, you can upgrade Windows Vista Home Basic with Service Pack 1 to Windows 7 Home Basic, Windows 7 Home Premium, or Windows 7 Ultimate, but not to Windows 7 Professional or Windows 7 Enterprise.

Upgrade limitations to windows 7

An in-place upgrade does not support cross architecture. This means that you cannot upgrade from 32-bit to 64-bit or vice versa. You can only upgrade to the same platform, even if your hardware supports both architectures.

An in-place upgrade does not support cross language. This means that you cannot upgrade from an EN-US version of Windows to a DE-DE version of Windows.In both cases, you need to perform a clean installation and the necessary migration.

Options for upgrading between Windows 7 editions

You can perform an upgrade between two editions of Windows 7 by purchasing Windows Anytime Upgrade. The Windows Anytime Upgrade Pack contains the product key, a Windows Anytime Upgrade DVD, and upgrade instructions.To initiate the upgrade process, insert your Windows Anytime Upgrade DVD. The target edition of Windows 7 is included on the Windows Anytime Upgrade DVD. The product key included with your Windows Anytime Upgrade Pack determines the edition of Windows 7 that you can install.

Before you start the upgrade, save all open files and close all open programs. The upgrade setup program will restart your computer several times, so any unsaved work will be lost. The upgrade preserves your settings, applications, and files.

The following table identifies the upgrade options between editions of Windows 7.

From\To	Starter	Home Basic	Home Premium	Professional	Enterprise	Ultimate
Starter	NA	X	WAU	WAU	X	WAU
Home Basic	X	NA	WAU	WAU	X	WAU
Home Premium	X	X	NA	WAU	X	WAU
Professional	X	X	X	NA	X	WAU
Enterprise	X	X	X	X	NA	X
Ultimate	X	X	X	X	X	NA

Legend:

X = In-place Upgrade is not supported.

NA = Not applicable.

WAU = Windows Anytime Upgrade is supported.

Advantages of Using 64-Bit Editions of Windows 7

2010-07-13T07:14:00.000+01:00

Although earlier versions of Windows operating systems, such as the Windows® XP® Professional operating system, were available in 64-bit editions, these versions provided limited application compatibility when compared with the 32-bit editions. Additionally, the relative scarcity of 64-bit drivers for existing hardware made selecting the 64-bit edition a significant compromise.

The 64-bit editions of Windows 7 overcome the application incompatibility issues that affected the 64-bit edition of earlier versions of Windows. The 64-bit drivers are now readily available for most commonly used devices in the 64-bit edition of Windows 7.

Advantages of Windows Seven 64 bit edition

The features in the 64-bit editions of Windows 7 are identical to their 32-bit counterparts. However, there are several advantages of using a 64-bit edition of Windows 7.

Improved performance
The fact that 64-bit processors can process more data for each clock cycle enables your applications to run faster or support more users. In workstation computers, faster processing means that applications run more quickly, particularly those that are processor intensive. To benefit from this improved processor capacity, you must install a 64-bit edition of the operating system.

Enhanced memory

The performance of a computer that runs a large number of programs, or runs programs that require large amounts of memory, is affected adversely if there is insufficient physical memory available to the operating system. A 64-bit operating system can address memory above 4GB. This is unlike all 32-bit operating systems, including all 32-bit editions of Windows 7, which are limited to 4 GB of addressable memory.

Note: The 32-bit editions of Windows 7 cannot access all of the 4 GB of memory to run user programs. They are limited to approximately 3 GB of memory regardless of how much memory you install on the computer. The 32-bit editions of Windows 7 use the additional memory (up to 4 GB) to run system-related services and programs.

The following table lists the memory configurations supported by 64-bit editions of Windows 7.

Windows 7 Edition                                    Home

Home Basic / Home Basic N                     8 GB
Home Premium                                         16 GB
Professional / Professional N                     128 GB or more
Enterprise / Ultimate                                  128 GB or more

Note: In theory, the maximum amount of memory a 64-bit computer can address is 16 Exabytes (16.8 million terabytes). However, most manufacturers impose artificial limits considerably lower than this value.

If you anticipate the need to run several memory-intensive programs, deploying a 64-bit edition of Windows 7 will improve your computer’s performance. If any computer that you have has more than 4 GB of memory installed, you must install a 64-bit edition of Windows 7 to access the memory beyond 4 GB.

Improved device support

Although 64-bit processors have been available for some time, in the past it was difficult to obtain third-party drivers for commonly used devices, such as printers, scanners, and other common office equipment. Since Windows Vista first released, the availability of drivers for these devices has improved greatly. Because Windows 7 is built on the same kernel as Windows Vista, most of the drivers that work with Windows Vista also work with Windows 7.

Improved security

The processor architecture of x64-based processors from Intel and AMD support the following features that improve security:

1. Kernel Patch Protection: this prevents software from modifying the operating system kernel.

2. Mandatory kernel-mode driver signing: signed drivers indicate that a driver has been sourced from a safe and trusted vendor. In 64-bit editions of Windows 7, all kernel-mode drivers must be signed digitally.

3. Data Execution Prevention: this is implemented at the hardware level rather than by software in the operating system and helps prevent buffer overflows that malicious software uses to cause system failures.

Limitations of the 64-bit editions

The 64-bit editions of Windows 7 do not support the 16-bit Windows on Windows (WOW) environment. WOW enables the operating system to run early Windows and DOS applications. If your organization requires legacy 16-bit applications, one solution is to run the application within a virtual environment by using one of the many Microsoft virtualization technologies available.

What is BitLocker ?

2010-07-07T15:40:00.000+01:00

Windows BitLocker™ Drive Encryption provides protection for the computer operating system and data stored on the operating system volume by ensuring that data stored on a computer remains encrypted, even if the computer is tampered with when the operating system is not running. BitLocker provides a closely integrated solution in Windows 7 to address the threats of data theft or exposure from lost, stolen, or inappropriately decommissioned personal computers.

What is bitlocker

Data on a lost or stolen computer can become vulnerable to unauthorized access when a user either runs a software attack tool against it or transfers the computer’s hard disk to a different computer. BitLocker helps mitigate unauthorized data access by enhancing Windows file and system protections. BitLocker also helps render data inaccessible when BitLocker-protected computers are decommissioned or recycled.

BitLocker Drive Encryption performs two functions that provide both offline data protection and system integrity verification :

* Encrypts all data stored on the Windows operating system volume (and configured data volumes). This includes the Windows operating system, hibernation and paging files, applications, and data used by applications.

* BitLocker also provides an umbrella protection for non-Microsoft applications, which benefits the applications automatically when they are installed on the encrypted volume.

* Is configured by default to use a Trusted Platform Module (TPM) to help ensure the integrity of early startup components (components used in the earlier stages of the startup process), and “locks“ any BitLocker-protected volumes so that they remain protected even if the computer is tampered with when the operating system is not running.

System integrity verification

BitLocker uses the TPM to verify the integrity of the startup process by:

* Providing a method to check that early boot file integrity has been maintained, and to help ensure that there has been no adverse modification of those files, such as with boot sector viruses or root kits.

* Enhancing protection to mitigate offline software-based attacks. Any alternative software that might start the system does not have access to the decryption keys for the Windows operating system volume.

* Locking the system when tampered with. If any monitored files have been tampered with, the system does not start. This alerts the user to the tampering since the system fails to start as usual. In the event that system lockout occurs, BitLocker offers a simple recovery process.

In conjunction with the TPM, BitLocker verifies the integrity of early startup components, which helps prevent additional offline attacks, such as attempts to insert malicious code into those components. This functionality is important because the components in the earliest part of the startup process must be available unencrypted so that the computer can start.

As a result, an attacker can change the code in those early startup components and then gain access to the computer, even though the data on the disk was encrypted. Then, if the attacker gains access to confidential information such as the BitLocker keys or user passwords, BitLocker and other Windows security protections can be circumvented.

BitLocker in Windows 7

The core functionality in Windows 7 BitLocker has been enhanced to provide a better experience for IT professionals and for end users, from simple enhancements like the ability to right-click a drive to enable BitLocker protection to the automatic creation of the required hidden boot partition.

For customers who deployed Windows Vista, BitLocker required a two partition disk configuration. Repartitioning the operating system (OS) drive to enable BitLocker protection was more cumbersome than it needed to be. This problem has been addressed with two enhancements found in Windows 7. First, by default during Windows 7 setup, users will get a separate active system partition, which is required for BitLocker to work on OS drives. This eliminates a second step that was required in many environments. In addition, you can partition a drive for BitLocker as part of BitLocker setup if you do not already have a separate system partition.

Additionally, BitLocker Drive Encryption technology in Windows 7 is extended from operating system drives and fixed data drives to include removable storage devices such as portable hard drives and USB flash drives. This enables you to take your protected data with you when traveling and use it with any computer that is running Windows 7.

Using BitLocker to go with removable drives

When a Laptop is lost or stolen, the loss of data typically has more impact than the loss of the computer asset. As more people use removable storage devices, they can lose data without losing a PC. BitLocker To Go provides enhanced protection against data theft and exposure by extending BitLocker drive encryption support to removable storage devices such as USB flash drives, and is manageable through Group Policy.

In Windows 7, users can encrypt their removable media by opening Windows Explorer, right-clicking the drive, and clicking Turn On BitLocker. They will then be asked to choose a method to unlock the drive. These options include:

* Password : This is a combination of letters, symbols, and numbers the user will enter to unlock the drive.

* Smart card : In most cases, a smart card is issued by your organization and a user enters a smart card PIN to unlock the drive.

After choosing the unlock methods, users will be asked to print or save their recovery password. This is a 48-digit password that can also be stored in Active Directory Domain Services and used if other unlock methods fail (for example, when a password is forgotten). Finally, users will be asked to confirm their unlock selections and to begin encryption.

When you insert a BitLocker-protected drive into your computer, Windows will automatically detect that the drive is encrypted and prompt you to unlock it.

Comparing BitLocker and EFS

The following table compares BitLocker and EFS encryption functionality.

Bit Locker Functionality	EFS Functionality
Encrypts volumes (the entire operating system volume, including Windows system files and the hibernation file)	Encrypts Files
Does not require user certificates	Requires user certificates
Protects the operating system from modification	Does not protect the operating system from modification

Question: BitLocker provides full volume encryption. What does this mean?

Answer : Full volume encryption means:
1) the entire Windows operating system volume can be encrypted, and
2) fixed data volumes can be encrypted (with the requirement that the OS volume is also encrypted).