Sunday, April 10, 2011

Keyboard shortcuts reduce a lot time during work. It doesn’t matters whether you are using windows, Linux, Microsoft office or any other program. All the computer programs have keyboard shortcuts. Keyboard shortcuts are useful in some big works, instead of moving your mouse pressing the click button instead you just have to press two or more keys, both at same time and Waa…. Lah your work is done. I am used to basic and some advance keyboard shortcuts of most of the office programs therefore I complete my work much faster than a person working with a mouse. I am posting some basic keyboard shortcuts for windows which every person should know.

Basic Keyboard Shortcuts for Windows

Windows key + E = Explorer
Windows key + Break = System properties
Windows key + F = Search
Windows key + D = Hide/Display all windows
ALT + Tab = Switch between windows
ALT, Space, X = Maximize window
CTRL + Shift + Esc = Task Manager
CTRL + C = Copy
CTRL + X = Cut
CTRL + V = Paste
CTRL + Z   = Undo an action
CTRL + Y  = Redo an action
CTRL + A  =Select all items in a document or window
F1 = Display Help
F2 = Rename the selected item
F3 = Search for a file or folder
F4 = Display the Address bar list in Windows Explorer
F5 = Refresh the active window
F6 = Cycle through screen elements in a window or on the desktop
F10 = Activate the menu bar in the active program.

Do let me know if my post helped you out or not by commenting back..
Now a days many internet users have started using Wi-Fi internet connections as it is suitable for fastest possible internet connectivity any where. Wi-Fi connections are connected through a wireless network. If you a Wi-Fi device and you have an access to a Wi-Fi ISP or Wireless internet router then you can start using your internet with a single mouse click. But wireless network is much unsecured than a wired network. Any intruder who knows the access of certain wireless network can hack in and play games. He can consume your bandwidth, or can generate rumor or terrorist attack mails from your Wi-Fi connection. No body needs trouble, so here are some tips to increase your Wi-Fi Security from hack attacks or intruders.

Tips to Increase Your Wi-fi SecurityWifi security

  • Enable firewall on each computer or router: Wireless routers have built-in Firewall, make sure it is turned on, cause there are options to disable it too.
  • Turn off your Wireless Router when not in use: When you are not using your wireless connection then turn off your wireless router, don’t be lazy you can turn it on again with just a press of a button.
  • Change the Default User Name and Passwords: Most of the wireless routers come with “Admin” as the user name and same as the password. Through this one can access and change the settings of your wireless router easily. So, donot use default user name and passwords.
  • Enable Mac Addressing: There is filtering option in wireless routers configuration where you can give access to your defined mac address, it easily makes wireless connection safe from intruders.
I hope my article will help you guys. If you like my post donot forget to comment back to encourage me.....

If you have a computer which you share amongst your family members than many of us are always trying to hide something, making something personal or which no body can have a look at but at the same we can have the access to it easily. People like me are mostly trying to hide photos and documents of their girl friends or girl friends :D . There are different ways to secure or personalize your documents and photos from other.

Hide Folder in XP (method I)

1. You can create different User accounts on windows with your User account having a password and also selecting the make documents private option.

Hide Folder in XP (method II)

2. Making an invisible folder also solves the problem. For that goto the location and create a new folder by right clicking on the window area of explorer and select new folder. Name the folder as, Keep ALT pressed on the keyboard and while ALT is pressed input 0160 and release ALT. This will create a blank ASCII character. Now here comes, how to make the folder invisible. Right click the folder and select properties. Click on the customize tab  and then click on Change Icon. Select the blank icon available in shell32.dll looking at the image below.
hide folderhide folder
Now click on OK. Now your folder is visible and neither its name. If you want to access your folder just Press CTRL + A (Select All) you’ll see a blank selection rename the folder and you are done.
It seems that Windows XP reserves 20% of the available bandwidth (i.e. 20% of your Internet available speed) to itself and that is one of the reasons that you will never reach your full download speed under this operating system. In this short tutorial we will teach you how to fix this and improve your Internet speed. Please notice that this tip only works on Windows XP Professional. Also some people claim that this trick is pure myth. So I leave it here for you guys to test and see if it really increases your Internet performance or not.
In order to fix this just follow these easy steps:

1. Click on Start, Run, gpedit.msc, .
2. On the window that will show up, click on Administrative Templates, Network, QoS Packet Scheduler.

optimize internet speed
3. On the right side pane, double click Limit reservable bandwidth. Change this configuration from “not configured” to “Enabled” and the reduce Bandwidth limit (%) from 20% to zero.
4. Click on Ok and restart your computer.
It seems that Windows XP reserves 20% of the available bandwidth even if this option is not configured and even if you don’t use QoS (Quality of Service) feature (which is disabled by default).
Keep in mind that there are several other reasons for your download speed not reaching the labeled speed of your Internet connection such as:
* The labeled speed of your Internet connection is its maximum speed, not meaning that you will be able to always get that download speed. Your broadband operator only guarantees this speed between your home (or office) and their network.
* High traffic on your service provider network.
* High traffic on the server you are downloading a file.
* Speed limit on the server you are downloading a file (e.g. if the server has its download speed limited to 2 Mbps you won’t be able to reach a higher speed than that).
* Route from your home or office to the server where the file is located.
* Your Internet connection being shared with other computers at your home or office.
* Downloading several files at the same time with P2P programs, eating up part of the available bandwidth of your Internet connection.
optimize internet speed



In these days everyone wants to make money online. There are many ways to make some dollars from Internet. All you need some knowledge about internet & you can start making money from Internet. In starting you don't need to invest money on domain & hosting. You can start from a blog which you can create free. Bring traffic to your blog. Here are some ways from which you can make money from internet after creating a free blog.

1. You can join Google Adsense & display ads related to your blog content.
2. You can sell text links ads on your site.
3. Join affiliate programmes.
4. Join Pay Per Click programmes.

Hope it helps you....
To utilize the sync feature, make sure that all of your computers have Firefox 4 installed. If your Firefox is still the older version, you need to download the latest version first.

After Firefox 4 is installed, open it up and go to the “Set Up Sync” menu. In the Mac version, this menu is located under “Tools“; while in the Windows version, it’s under the “Firefox” menu.

You can choose one of the computers to start setting up your Firefox Sync account and add the other computers to the account later. Click the “Create a New Account” button in the “Firefox Sync Setup” window.

Continue by filling in your email address and chosen password in the Account Details.
You will get the “Sync Key”. You will use the key to set up and add another computer to the sync account. Due to its importance, it’s advisable to save the key and keep it safe.


The key will be saved as an HTML file. If you have a Dropbox account and have the application installed on the other computers that you use, it’s a good idea to save the Firefox Sync Key file in the Dropbox folder so you can access it easily.

Now the set up process is complete. Click the “Done” button to wrap up.



Adding Other Firefoxes To The System

The next step is to add other Firefoxes in other computers to your account.
Go to the “Set Up Sync” menu on the other Firefox and start the setup process again.

But now click the “Connect” button instead of “Create A New Account“.

You will see “Add a Device” window and you will have three sets of codes. Leave this window open for a while and go back to the first computer where you set up the Firefox Sync account.


In the first computer, open “Preferences” and choose the “Sync” tab. Click the “Add a Device” link and write down the three codes that you got in the previous step.


It’s possible that you may not have the first computer with you when you add another computer to your sync account. In this case, click the “I don’t have the device with me” link under the three sets of codes. This other option requires you to sign in with your Sync account. Type in your email address and password. Open the saved Firefox Sync Key HTML file and type in the Sync Key.


And that’s it. You’ve just added another computer to your sync account. Repeat the process for other computers that you use and you are ready to sync your bookmarks across computers.




Actions such as checking into places, clicking “Like” on a page, application interactions and posting on Facebook pages can be then used as marketing ammo, sending targeted recommendations to your friends featuring your name and profile picture. Users who are featured in the adverts won’t be paid a penny.


This new way for advertisers to target their audience on a startlingly personal level quietly launched in January, and (in a move that’s angered many) each Facebook user’s account, by default, allows this to happen. Despite many voicing their concerns, Facebook insists that this new breed of social advertising falls in line with its current privacy policy.


For those of you seething in your office chairs, there’s a simple way to disallow Facebook from using your personal data in these new ‘sponsored stories’ from yourAccount Settings:


Whilst logged into Facebook, click Account then Account Settings. On the far right of the row of tabs choose Facebook Adverts, which will take you to a page where you can change Allow adverts on platform pages to show my information to and Show my social actions in Facebook Adverts to No one.


What do you think about Facebook’s new adverts? Have you changed your account settings? Spread the word and have your say in the comments below.

 
 
Let’s assume for a moment that you threw caution to the wind and have already reformatted the hard drive of your computer. Then, you suddenly realize that no backups are available.


What course of action can you take to save yourself and your entire saved data on your computer from completely drowning due to the split-second mistake? There’s still a few lifebuoys out there. Read on to find out.  

First: Do not write to the drive!

The first absolute rule you need to know is – do not write to the hard drive if you are planning on recovering data off it. When you write to a hard drive the system drivers randomly write data to the disk. So, when you write to a drive there is a good chance you are overwriting any data on it that you could have possibly restored.


This means do not try to boot from the drive, or if it is an external USB drive do not store any new files on it. Next, you can start thinking of recovery by picking one of the below mentioned options. 
 
Pick Your Recovery OS

Once you install the hard drive in a system and boot to an operating system such as Windows or Mac it will automatically try to access data on the drive. If you have already created a new partition on the drive, this means that it could be writing to the drive without you even knowing about it.
The best solution is to boot using a recovery disk that runs its own OS. This will leave all of the drives on your computer alone until the recovery process is started.


If you are uncomfortable running one of the custom tools, then some of the software listed below can still run right on top of your operating system, and it will still work to scan a reformatted hard drive to recover files
Best Free Recovery Tools

Paragon Rescue Kit

The best utility for restoring deleted files from a formatted hard drive is Paragon’s Rescue Kit. There is a free version and a paid version. For basic tasks, the free version will do.
First you will need to register for a serial number on the site, and download the installer. The installer can either save an ISO file or burn a boot CD directly.
After you boot your system into the Rescue Kit, it will ask you which function you wish to perform. 
 

Select File Transfer Wizard if you want to transfer deleted files off of the drive. This will then open a menu that lets you browse the disk for deleted and non-deleted files and add them to a clipboard. Click Next and then specify where you would like to save them to.


Select Boot Corrector if you are just having problems booting from your hard drive. It will then try a few things to correct the Master Boot Record and booting process on the drive.


Finally select Undelete Partition if you accidentally deleted a whole partition, but haven’t overwritten it yet with a new one.  



You can search any partition-free space on your hard drive for deleted partitions.


Paragon Rescue Kit is a must-have tool for anyone dealing with PC tech support and can be a real life (and data) saver.  

 If you are already booted in Windows, or if you have a flash drive that needs to have some files restored from it, check out Recuva. It has been reviewed on MakeUseOf before, and is still in active development and a great choice if you are wanting to restore specific files that have been deleted.



Parted Magic is a great tool in general, and it does include a few tools for helping to restore a deleted partition. First, if you want to make a mirror of the drive for data recovery purposes, you can certainly do that as it is a part of Parted Magic’s bread and butter functions.


If your computer was running Ubuntu before formatting, it also includes a program called Extundelete. This works to restore deleted ext3 and ext4 files ystems, which Ubuntu uses by default. 


For years, I’ve been looking for a high-quality free voice to text software solution that will automatically take an audio recording and transcribe it to text. Such an application will put a lot of transcription companies out of work, but it’s a dream that I believe will come true some day. Recently, I conducted another hour-long interview and in my search for such applications,

Dock & Speech Recognition to Transcribe Your Voice

Obviously, the first thing I wanted to do with Express Scribe (Windows/Mac) is to stream an audio file to automatically transcribe the interview. This is my pipe dream, so I had to try. Although the odds were good it wouldn’t work, because the computer would only be able to learn my voice. Either way, the first step is to enable the built-in voice recognition service in Windows 7 and train it to understand your voice.
Go into the Control Panel, click on “Ease of Access“, and then select “Speech Recognition.” 



First select “Start Speech Recognition“, and this will enable the feature as part of your Windows experience. I very highly recommend that you click on “train your computer to better understand you” and go through the training sequence at least twice – it only takes about 5 to 7 minutes at a time. Speak as plainly and articulately as possible. 


 To enable speech recognition in Express Scribe, just click on Options and select the “Speech to Text” tab. You’ll see the default profile show up in the dropdown box. This is the profile that you’ve just trained to recognize your speech pattern. Click on “Add” so the profile shows up in the list.

Now that it’s ready to transcribe, the first thing I wanted to try was bringing in voice audio files and seeing how well the software transcribed them. You do this by clicking on “Dock” and then choosing the Audio File Transfer Method


 Using this selection, you then choose a folder where your external recording device, like a digital recorder, downloads files to your computer. This will import all of those files to Express Scribe. I used this feature to import audio files from my interview folder. Here’s what the transcription looked like.

As you can see, the transcription was pretty much garbage. Nine times out of ten the transcription can’t even get started, and when it does it will write a few words and then completely bomb out. Obviously, the automatic transcription of audio files that I dream about still hasn’t come true, but that doesn’t mean I’ve given up on Express Scribe. There’s still the fact that it is trained to recognize and transcribe my voice. So I could still make use of the software to transcribe my own voice recordings and dictations.


To do this live (with your microphone), all you have to do is plug in your microphone and then click “Dock” and choose the Audio Cable option. The following screen will appear, showing the audio level of your microphone and that it’s actively streaming in the live audio. Go ahead and start dictating. 


 Of course, if you’ve recorded your dictation on a digital voice recorder, all you have to do is hook up your voice recorder output to the microphone input of your computer, and this feature will stream in the audio (that’s actually what it’s intended for – docking your recorder).


When I was finished dictating a long sentence, I clicked “done” to see how well the software performed. As you can see below – pretty stellar. Only one word wrong (and should have been “can”), but that was because I stumbled when I spoke.


This is pretty impressive, and I can see using Express Scribe to transcribe a whole lot of recordings that I make while I’m mobile – it’ll save a whole lot of time in transcribing my audio, because I’ll only have to go back and edit any small mistakes.



The accurate transcription from audio to text is not an easy feature to find in most free voice to text software, so it was surprising to see Express Scribe do such a good job. Another nice feature is the “Incoming” feature within the Options menu. Here, you can configure a certain recording directly on your hard drive for automatic syncing. 





 
With piracy a constant concern for computer software companies, methods of registering and validating software are now the norm. Operating systems are no different. Microsoft Windows has long used a product key that validates the operating system.


The complexity of the validation used, however, has increased over time. Today, Microsoft has online activation servers that must validate your installation key, and your installation key is often tied to your computer. Installing a copy of Windows with the same key on a different computer can cause issues, but it’s possible to get around them.  
 
Understanding Different Versions of Windows


 The conditions under which you might need to hassle with Windows activation vary depending on the version of Windows that you own. Microsoft sells its operating systems with different licenses attached, and those licenses impact how validation works when you try to remove Windows activation from one computer and install it on another.


If you go to the store and buy a copy of Microsoft Windows you’re likely buying a standard retail license. A retail license lets you install Windows on one computer. If you try to install it twice, Windows activation can tell (so long the computers have a connection to the Internet) and will call foul.

However, it’s likely you instead have an OEM copy of Windows. OEM stands for Original Equipment Manufacturer, and this label is slapped onto software that comes pre-installed or packaged with a computer. OEM copies of Windows come with a license that only allows Windows to be installed on the machine the manufacturer shipped. You can’t take the OEM copy and install it on any other computer – if you try, Windows activation will notice.


Finally, you may end up with a volume license which makes it possible to install Windows on multiple machines at once. The Windows 7 family pack is a good example of this; the activation keys that come with the family pack can be used on three computers simultaneously. 


Removing Windows Activation

Unfortunately, there is no Microsoft tool that lets you remove your Windows activation from a computer once you have installed the operating system. This is not surprising when you think about it; if you could simply remove your activation, there would be no point to the OEM license. There are cracks, of course, but these are not difficult for Microsoft to counter over time by releasing new updates. If you want your copy of Windows 7 to work reliably you need to legitimately install Windows with an activation key. 

o What Do I Do?






Pick up the phone!
Oddly, Microsoft is not strict about making sure you obey the terms of their software license. They are often happy to help you activate a copy of Windows on a new or upgraded computer even if you have an OEM license. They just want to talk to you about it in person.


The process is simple. Install Windows on a computer and insert the activation key as normal. When Windows starts and you connect to the Internet you will receive an error message letting you know that your copy of Windows is not genuine. Click on the text link that lets you solve the problem online and try to activate the key again. When it fails once more, you are given the chance to call into Microsoft support. 


Do this. You will end up speaking to a representative who will ask you the circumstances of your installation. While these representatives are likely to let you activate even if you’re blatantly moving an OEM license, a simple white lie can help smooth the gears. Just let them know that you’ve upgraded your computer, causing the activation to flag. They’ll press a few buttons on their end and presto! You’ve just activated your Windows key on a different computer, and since it’s 100% legit, you don’t need to worry about a new Windows update messing with your PC. 


This is effectively a method of removing your Windows activation from the computer that your copy of Windows was originally installed on, because the key will no longer work on the original PC. If you do boot up the original PC and allow it to connect to the Internet you will soon be hit with an error message letting you know your copy of Windows is no longer genuine. Which is correct, because your activation has been transferred.


To be absolutely clear; this DOES NOT duplicate your Windows activation.
Also, be warned that Microsoft does keep track of how your activation key is used. They will take notice if you’re calling into their hotline once a week to transfer an activation key. Microsoft could be more strict about this process than they currently are. Don’t give Redmond a reason to change its policy.

Friday, April 8, 2011


Certainly there are many sources of information available that can give you computer hacking basics. There is actually some misconception about who a real hacker is. Hacking computers is performed by one who knows computers very well - even the extra tricks of a computer and electronics. He can easily tweak these according to his needs and become hacker. This is the way the term was used when Bill Gates was inventing Windows.



Those who are often referred to as hackers today, should actually be called "crackers" - people who do not have unauthorized access, like a safe-cracker. If you doubt me, and want to know how to be a hacker then do a search on the term "professional hacker," and you will find many professional and legitimate computer training courses being offered. They are the ones learning the real hacker secrets.

What Are The Basics Needed To Become A Hacker

Everyone has heard of one individual or another that was caught while hacking computers that belonged to this or that organization. Because hacking into computers is highly illegal, it should be mentioned that this article will not mention any real specifics about the subject, and this author would rather gladly encourage you to become a real hacker - professionally.



This article, will however, give a brief overview of criminal hackers, some of their methods, and a few things you can do to make your own computer safer from hack attacks. Here are those things you need to learn on how to become a hacker.

Learn Computers

It should go without saying that the first thing that is needed is to learn about computers. This means study. A lot of reading is involved along with just plain old-fashioned learning how to use a computer. Then, of course, there are the special aspects of computer study. The places where the tips are learned is often two-fold: a friend who has access to a computer, and a variety of places on the Web. But this is also an interesting thing - if a young person has the ability to learn, and wants to learn can use hacking tutorials- then why not take the time to learn the right things - things that can earn him a lot of money in the legit world? Is it possibly that it could be the friend he has that turns him away from the good?

Learn The Websites

Special hacker Web sites, where hackers congregate, exist on the Web - as does every other known group of people - whether legal or illegal. Some of these are known to be hacker chat rooms, hacker forum, and regular hacker sites.

Learn The Secrets

It is in these Web sites, and possibly some of the people that he may meet, maybe only online, where he will learn the hacking basics, and learn how to hack.

Tools Hackers Need To Get Into Websites

Some of the tools that a hacker may use are often varied and constantly changing. One such tool that was used last year allowed a hacker to gain control of the computers of those who simply mistyped the word Google - when trying to get the popular search engine. This automatically directed them to a special website that would give them such malware items as Trojan downloaders, backdoors and spyware.

Another tool would be the robot spider. These can be sent out and put on automatic and will look for ports of access into your computer. These spiders are running around all the time and some say that they may hit most computers that are online - up to 50 times a day. 

Other tools use email attachments. It is claimed that as much as 65% of all email is spam. And as much as 1 in about 30 emails contains a virus, or some form of malware. This is why having your own virus and spam protection is a must, as well as a good spyware remover. Someone is busy. Once someone has been hacking information on a computer they will often leave a Trojan file that will give them further access - often more than one file. Then they could use your computer to send out spam attacks - without you even knowing that it is taking place. Or, they could simply be hacking your personal information off of your computer. These are just a few of their tools.

How Hackers Avoid Getting Caught

One of the first things that someone would learn about hacking tutorials when studying to be a hacker is how to cover their tracks. Of course, some are better than others. A young hacker is less likely to know all the little things that an expert hacker might know. Besides, the young hacker may be trying to impress others - and get a little careless about covering his tracks. This is why younger hackers are often caught.

An older hacker, on the other hand, will rarely leave any tracks. They know how to use their victim's computers as a tool for a launching place to get into another computer - leaving a phony IP address.

The truth is, and it is a good thing, that computer programmers are getting better software, and hardware (firewalls) that are constantly doing a better job - both in keeping hackers out, and in recording IP addresses better for tracking purposes. 

There will always be hackers, and there will always be hackers in prison. The legislation is definitely turning against the hacker - with some hacking crimes becoming equal to terrorism, these days. Kevin Mitnick, a well-known hacker, had the Federal prosecutors accuse him of having caused $291 million in damages to corporate computers. A serious crime, and he remains in jail because of it - unable to touch anymore computers.


In common usage, a hacker is a person who breaks into computers and computer networks, either for profit or motivated by the challenge. (as per wikipedia)

Myth: Hackers are bad. Actually, hackers are merely computer programmers who go in to someone else’s code and reorganize it somehow. The term is well charted and defined by Wikipedia and doesn’t directly refer to anything malicious. Quite the opposite; hackers are programmers to whom we owe a lot of thanks for working out troubles in software and the Internet.

Truth: Hackers actually lay claim to a Manifesto from 1986 that inspires curiosity and fairness and being accountable for one’s actions. The manifesto was written just after the author’s arrest for “Bank Tampering.” His best lament is, “my crime is that of outsmarting you, something that you will never forgive me for.” Indeed, the pressure of being constantly watched forced “The Mentor”‘s resignation in 1990. To all hackers, he is considered a living legend.

The damage that’s done on the Internet and perhaps to your computer or your neighbor’s computer isn’t done by true ‘hackers.’ Would you call a graffiti vandal an artist or a ‘painter’ in the classical sense? Little folks spray paint buildings because they can. Sometimes it may feel that it’s the only way to leave any mark with a life that feels too small for anyone to notice.

The hackers are classified based on their attitude.

White hat : A white hat hacker breaks security for non-malicious reasons, for instance testing their own security system. This classification also includes individuals who perform penetration tests and vulnerability assessments within a contractual agreement. Often, this type of ‘white hat’ hacker is called an ethical hacker. //The good guys

Black hat :A black hat hacker, sometimes called “cracker”, is someone who breaks computer security without authorization or uses technology (usually a computer, phone system or network) for vandalism, credit card fraud, identity theft, piracy, or other types of illegal activity. //The bad guys, who spoil the name of hackers//they are just crackers not hackers

Grey hat : A gray hat hacker is a combination of a Black Hat Hacker and a White Hat Hacker. A Grey Hat Hacker will surf the internet and hack into a computer system for the sole purpose of notifying the administrator that their system has been hacked. Then they will offer to repair their system for a small fee. //These guys are my favorite

Script kiddie :A script kiddie is a non-expert who breaks into computer systems by using pre-packaged automated tools written by others, usually with little understanding of the underlying concept—hence the term script (i.e. a prearranged plan or set of activities) kiddie (i.e. kid, child—an individual lacking knowledge and experience, immature). /*These are the guys who always get caught and the guys who always appear in news medias, they get caught everytime since they lack in skills and knowledge*/

There do exist many other classifications but the above mentioned ones are the basic classes.

Now, what are the basic skills.

1. Learn how to program.
2. Get one of the open-source Unixes and learn to use and run it.
3. Learn how to use the World Wide Web and write HTML.
4. If you don’t have functional English, learn it. //Optional to some extend.

Actually i was planning to write the above post myself with my own language, but found that there are many good articles on the internet, so i complied them into a new article.
source: wikipedia.com, plus some other odd websites

By Sumit Ojha...

Saturday, April 2, 2011

What is a boot sector? All disks and hard drives are divided into small sectors. The first sector is called the boot sector and contains the Master Boot Record (MBR). The MBR contains the information concerning the location of partitions on the drive and reading of the bootable operating system partition. During the bootup sequence on a DOS-based PC, the BIOS searches for certain system files, IO.SYS and MS-DOS.SYS. When those files have been located, the BIOS then searches for the first sector on that disk or drive and loads the needed Master Boot Record information into memory. The BIOS passes control to a program in the MBR which in turn loads IO.SYS. This latter file is responsible for loading the remainder of the operating system. 

What is a boot sector virus? A boot sector virus is one that infects the first sector, i.e. the boot sector, of a floppy disk or hard drive. Boot sector viruses can also infect the MBR. The first PC virus in the wild was Brain, a boot sector virus that exhibited stealth techniques to avoid detection. Brain also changed the volume label of the disk drive. 

How to avoid boot sector viruses. Commonly, infected floppies and subsequent boot sector infections result from "shared" diskettes and pirated software applications. It is relatively easy to avoid boot sector viruses. Most are spread when users inadvertently leave floppy disks in the drive - which happen to be infected with a boot sector virus. The next time they boot up their PC, the virus infects the local drive. Most systems allow users to change the boot sequence so that the system always attempts to boot first from the local hard drive (C:\) or CD-ROM drive. 

Disinfecting boot sector viruses. Boot sector repair is best accomplished by the use of antivirus software. Because some boot sector viruses encrypt the MBR, improper removal can result in a drive that is inaccessible. However, if you are certain the virus has only affected the boot sector and is not an encrypting virus, the DOS SYS command can be used to restore the first sector. Additionally, the DOS LABEL command can be used to restore a damaged volume label and FDISK /MBR will replace the MBR. None of these methods is recommended, however. Antivirus software remains the best tool for cleanly and accuarately removing boot sector viruses with minimal threat to data and files. 

Creating a system disk. When disinfecting a boot sector virus, the system should always be booted from a known clean system disk. On a DOS-based PC, a bootable system disk can be created on a clean system running the exact same version of DOS as the infected PC. From a DOS prompt, type: SYS C:\ A:\ 

and press enter. This will copy the system files from the local hard drive (C:\) to the floppy drive (A:\).
If the disk has not been formatted, the use of FORMAT /S will format the disk and transfer the necessary system files. On Windows 3.1x systems, the disk should be created as described above for DOS-based PC's. On Windows 95/98/NT systems, click Start | Settings | Control Panel | Add/Remove Programs and choose the Startup Disk tab. Then click on "Create Disk". Windows 2000 users should insert the Windows 2000 CD-ROM into the CD-ROM drive, click Start | Run and type the name of the drive followed by bootdisk\makeboot a: and then click OK. For example:


Follow the screen prompts to finish creating the bootable system disk. In all cases, after the creation of the bootable system disk, the disk should be write protected to avoid infection.
The internet is an exciting place to shop. From the comfort of your own armchair you can browse for literally anything, from a new camera, to a holiday or flight. You are not restricted to the stores in your local town, or even country and you can pick up deals at great prices on a whole range of products.
Shopping online isn’t just as safe as handing over your credit card in a store or restaurant. However, if you take care of few things it can be a safe deal. Following are the things you should take care of:
  1. Never respond to an email request for credit card details. All reputable companies will conduct transactions with you over a secure website connection.
  2. Remember to never respond to any email advertisement, and only visit sites you know or have book marked, and verify the address before browsing further.
  3. Only buy from trusted brands and websites.
  4. To ensure that you only do business with legitimate companies check to see if they have a contact number, an actual retail store and a printed catalogue to browse.
  5. Check a website’s returns and privacy policy before going ahead with a purchase.
  6. Check that you are entering your details through a secure payment connection. You should notice when you click through to the transaction page of a company’s website that the URL in the address bar begins https:// (instead of the normal http://). This is the standard encrypted communication mechanism on the internet and means that your credit card details are being sent securely.
  7. Beware of deals that seem too good to be true.
  8. Beware of the limitations of the internet. The internet may not the best place to buy clothes or other products you need to see, touch or try on.
  9. All reputable websites use secure payment systems. These are either a company’s own system or a 3rd party system such as Worldpay or Paypal.
  10. When conducting a transaction over the internet, look for the yellow padlock in the grey status bar at the bottom of your browser page. This is an indication that the transaction is being conducted over a secure connection.
  11. As an extra precaution check to see if there’s a gold lock at the bottom of the right hand corner of the browser. If they don’t include any of these reliable indicators, you might want to think twice before handing over your credit card number.
  12. To be on the safe side, and avoid Internet fraudsters, it’s also a good idea to install and use security software such as Kaspersky Internet Security. It can provide you with industry-leading security services that will provide you more protection against the latest threats.
A Trojan, sometimes referred to as a Trojan horse, is non-self-replicating malware that appears to perform a desirable function for the user but instead facilitates unauthorized access to the user's computer system. 



Is trojan virus Dangerous?
The short answer is yes, and the long answer is sometimes No, because there are near a thousand different trojan horse viruses and they all will most likely alter your computer in some way or another.

working of trojans




Types of Trojans:

1.Remote Access Trojans

2.Password Sending Trojans

3.Keyloggers

4.Destructive Trojans

5.Denial of Service (DoS) Attack Trojans

6.Proxy/Wingate Trojans

7.FTP Trojans

8.Software Detection Killers
 
How to Get Rid of Trojans:
Here are some practical tips to avoid getting infected (again). For more general security information, please see our main security help page.
  1. NEVER download blindly from people or sites which you aren't 100% sure about. In other words, as the old saying goes, don't accept candy from strangers. If you do a lot of file downloading, it's often just a matter of time before you fall victim to a trojan.
  2. Even if the file comes from a friend, you still must be sure what the file is before opening it, because many trojans will automatically try to spread themselves to friends in an email address book or on an IRC channel. There is seldom reason for a friend to send you a file that you didn't ask for. When in doubt, ask them first, and scan the attachment with a fully updated anti-virus program.
  3. Beware of hidden file extensions! Windows by default hides the last extension of a file, so that innocuous-looking "susie.jpg" might really be "susie.jpg.exe" - an executable trojan! To reduce the chances of being tricked, unhide those pesky extensions.
  4. NEVER use features in your programs that automatically get or preview files. Those features may seem convenient, but they let anybody send you anything which is extremely reckless. For example, never turn on "auto DCC get" in mIRC, instead ALWAYS screen every single file you get manually. Likewise, disable the preview mode in Outlook and other email programs.
  5. Never blindly type commands that others tell you to type, or go to web addresses mentioned by strangers, or run pre-fabricated programs or scripts (not even popular ones). If you do so, you are potentially trusting a stranger with control over your computer, which can lead to trojan infection or other serious harm.
  6. Don't be lulled into a false sense of security just because you run anti-virus programs. Those do not protect perfectly against many viruses and trojans, even when fully up to date. Anti-virus programs should not be your front line of security, but instead they serve as a backup in case something sneaks onto your computer.
  7. Finally, don't download an executable program just to "check it out" - if it's a trojan, the first time you run it, you're already infected!

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