No one likes to find out that they have picked up one of the common computer viruses from being online. Yet so many people are unaware of the things that are online that can cause damage to your system. If you have come to the internet in hopes of finding out what you can do to prevent damaging your computer while you are online; then you have come to the right place.
You may be wondering why do people get computer viruses? Well in my opinion the only reason that people infect their system; is because they have no idea what the common viruses are.
If you have ever heard of someone saying "do not open up emails from unknown senders" well the only reason they are saying this is because this is how some people have caught viruses on their systems. So if you ever receive an email from someone that you have no idea who sent it to you; it is best that you just delete it without opening it. You may want to know who sent it; but I would highly recommend that you do not.
Yes you system can become infected by a virus and unfortunately if it is infected; then it can become useless. There is basically nothing you can do with a computer that has been infected and the worst part is that it will be difficult to access all the information on your present computer.
Clean your system out on a regular basis and stay away from emails that unknown senders mail to you; and you should be okay. Yes sometimes we run into viruses that we can not avoid and if you do; and that is one of the main reasons that you want to make sure that your system is well protected. So what are some of the common computer viruses are?
Well the worm is one of the viruses that can affect your system. You can easily get this virus through a file on the internet or a file that someone sends you. If you do have a worm; then you have to know that you can not spread it from computer to computer. You may have heard about some of the viruses that have been floating around online. Or maybe you had an email from a friend telling you that if you get an email from so and so then you should avoid opening it up. The reason is that the viruses are started by people who want to cause damage to people's computers.
Even though there are certain things that you can catch online; it does not mean that surfing the internet is dangerous. I will however take common sense to make sure that you do not open up something that can infect your computer and then you will have to spend the money to get another one.
If you found this article helpful; visit our site below. In just two minutes you can scan your PC to ensure that it is running smoothly and has not been infected by anything that can damage it.
Avoid Your Computer From Getting Infected With Viruses Do You Know What Is Infecting Your System? Prevent Your Computer From Experiencing PC Errors, Constant Crashes And General System Slowdowns
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Willie_Stanford
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Showing posts with label computer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label computer. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
How to Protect the Computer From Computer Virus Worm? - Virus Worm Remover Review By Donald Chambers
Do you wish to learn how to protect the computer from computer virus worm? There is an increasing virus and spyware risk on the internet as it expands daily. The number of malicious files that are spread on the web are also increasing, making the risk of virus infection greater than ever. If your PC system is infected by viruses or spyware and you want to get rid of them fast, read on to find out how to do this easily.
1. What Is A Computer Virus Worm?
Its main objective is to destroy the entire hard disk by removing system files. It is able to install itself into the PC without alerting the user of its presence.
2. What Are The PC Symptoms Of A Computer Virus Worm Infection?
The most common ones include irritating popup advertisements and slowdown in PC processing speed. In more serious cases, users may find that their documents and applications become damaged and unable to open as the viruses start deleting their components and render them useless.
3. How To Protect The Computer From Computer Virus Worm?
To do this, it is highly recommended that you download a virus and spyware protection tool to fully scan your system first and remove any malicious files that it finds. It should also be set to conduct frequent scans. I have personally used a great computer virus / spyware software to deal with all the spyware and viruses on my PC before in just 5 minutes. You can find out more about it at the website link below.
4. What Are The Reasons Why The PC Gets Infected With A Computer Virus Worm?
Most virus infections occur when users download applications like MP3 files from unknown sources, when they open email attachments or when they visit malicious websites.
Are you looking to Protect your Computer from Computer Virus Worm? Don't do it yet, because the author has found many bad spyware and virus cleaning software on the web. Read the author's review of the Top 5 Spyware & Virus Removal Software on the market now at http://www.review-best.com/spyware-virus-removal-software.htm first!
Learn to completely get rid of all the spyware and viruses on your computer in less than 5 minutes with a FREE PC Scan!
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Donald_Chambers
1. What Is A Computer Virus Worm?
Its main objective is to destroy the entire hard disk by removing system files. It is able to install itself into the PC without alerting the user of its presence.
2. What Are The PC Symptoms Of A Computer Virus Worm Infection?
The most common ones include irritating popup advertisements and slowdown in PC processing speed. In more serious cases, users may find that their documents and applications become damaged and unable to open as the viruses start deleting their components and render them useless.
3. How To Protect The Computer From Computer Virus Worm?
To do this, it is highly recommended that you download a virus and spyware protection tool to fully scan your system first and remove any malicious files that it finds. It should also be set to conduct frequent scans. I have personally used a great computer virus / spyware software to deal with all the spyware and viruses on my PC before in just 5 minutes. You can find out more about it at the website link below.
4. What Are The Reasons Why The PC Gets Infected With A Computer Virus Worm?
Most virus infections occur when users download applications like MP3 files from unknown sources, when they open email attachments or when they visit malicious websites.
Are you looking to Protect your Computer from Computer Virus Worm? Don't do it yet, because the author has found many bad spyware and virus cleaning software on the web. Read the author's review of the Top 5 Spyware & Virus Removal Software on the market now at http://www.review-best.com/spyware-virus-removal-software.htm first!
Learn to completely get rid of all the spyware and viruses on your computer in less than 5 minutes with a FREE PC Scan!
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Donald_Chambers
Free Online HTML Editor - Do They Exist? By Matt Murren
If you are working on a lab computer, or have limited space available on your hard drive, a Free Online HTML Editor certainly appeals to you. Many of these new innovative web applications have just as much power and as many features as an old desktop based HTML editor, but can be done from your web browser. There is a Free Online HTML Editor available for your needs whether you are looking for a traditional text based application or a "What You See Is What You Get" (WYSIWYG) application. If you are looking for a text based free online HTML Editor, among the options available to you is the SquareFree Real-Time HTML editor.
This simple web page allows you to see what your finished HTML code will look like in a box below your code in real time. If you still would like the ability to "get under the hood" of the HTML but would like a little bit more added features you have the "HTML Generator" offered by HyperGurl which will fill in some of the HTML coding for you and is ideal for simple pages. WYSIWYG is where the Free Online HTML Editor concept really shines though. Among the options available to you in this category include Online HTML Editor, WysiwygPro, Editlet, Ephox, eWebEditor, and more. All of these programs have their own requirements, browser compatibilities, and of course unique features.
However, it should be noted that sadly not all of those are entirely free; which, of course, is what you are here for. They were included merely so that you see what your options are. You can use free demos of all of these programs before you are required to buy. One web based WYSIWYG editor in the list that is free though is Online HTML Editor. Online HTML Editor was developed in Germany but offers an English version. The menu bears a strong resemblance to classic word processors and is simple for anyone to use who is familiar with office or HTML software. When you are finished with a file your simply click "Save file now" and download your finished file from the Online HTML Editor server.
This list is definitely not exhaustive, it would have to be much longer (and more boring to read) if it were. You can find other Free Online HTML Editor programs on the net, but before you go looking I strongly suggest you try one of the move products. Good luck with your HTML editing.
Matt D Murren owns and operates http://www.html-editor-advice.com - Html Editor
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Matt_Murren
This simple web page allows you to see what your finished HTML code will look like in a box below your code in real time. If you still would like the ability to "get under the hood" of the HTML but would like a little bit more added features you have the "HTML Generator" offered by HyperGurl which will fill in some of the HTML coding for you and is ideal for simple pages. WYSIWYG is where the Free Online HTML Editor concept really shines though. Among the options available to you in this category include Online HTML Editor, WysiwygPro, Editlet, Ephox, eWebEditor, and more. All of these programs have their own requirements, browser compatibilities, and of course unique features.
However, it should be noted that sadly not all of those are entirely free; which, of course, is what you are here for. They were included merely so that you see what your options are. You can use free demos of all of these programs before you are required to buy. One web based WYSIWYG editor in the list that is free though is Online HTML Editor. Online HTML Editor was developed in Germany but offers an English version. The menu bears a strong resemblance to classic word processors and is simple for anyone to use who is familiar with office or HTML software. When you are finished with a file your simply click "Save file now" and download your finished file from the Online HTML Editor server.
This list is definitely not exhaustive, it would have to be much longer (and more boring to read) if it were. You can find other Free Online HTML Editor programs on the net, but before you go looking I strongly suggest you try one of the move products. Good luck with your HTML editing.
Matt D Murren owns and operates http://www.html-editor-advice.com - Html Editor
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Matt_Murren
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Computer Problems Tips - The 3 Levels of Spyware - Do You Still Control Your Computer? By Chancer Reese
"The only difference between the fool, and the criminal who attacks a system is that the fool attacks unpredictably and on a broader front." (Tom Gilb)
It doesn't matter if your computer is compromised by professional villains or just by the geeky kid across the street, once your sensitive files have been broken into your life may never be the same. Spyware is one of the most unrated forms of "espionage" occurring in the world today.
Most computer users think of this kind of program as a being just as an annoying or embarrassing kind of prank. But criminal-minded programmers know better.
In the past, spyware and its close cousin adware were simply wicked bits of "paid advertisements" for shady website publishers to attract customers. But soon, more malicious coders determined to use these programs to really "spy" on innocent people and dig out as many of their victim's secrets to use or sell on the black market as possible.
These new programs are being crafted by "professional" development teams just like a "real" software company. The programs are sophisticated and slick.
At its most innocent level, these spy packages just track your browsing habits (where you go and what you do on the web). Your email addresses are also raided. This information is then sold to websites for advertising.
At an intermediate level, a "keystroke" logger (a program that observes and records what you type on your keyboard) can be used in combination with web-tracking software to dig out the keywords, passwords and usernames you use when visiting sites such as eBay, PayPal and your bank.
The final level is in which spyware has completely overwhelmed your computer and all your sensitive information is laid-bare to any prying eyes that want to view it. Your ID/SSN numbers, your home address, personal photographs, your banking or other financial information is dug out and sold to the highest bidder.
This is then used to create everything from fake driver's licenses for teenagers, terrorists, and illegals to making dupe credit cards used to run up charges under your name. Your "identity" has been stolen and compromised for years to come.
Your computer can be turned into a "zombie" and thousands and thousands of fake emails could be sent through your connection to the Internet. This will result in your ISP (Internet Service Provider) taking action and limiting or shutting down your account. And with unpaid charges bouncing about your credit card report will soon be in a shambles as well.
What you should do now to lock down your PC...
Download from the Net or buy a good anti-spyware software package. For free try Ad-Aware or SpyBot's S&D. Or use SpySweeper if you need an industrial strength cleaner.
Scan your hard drive and follow any instructions on removing items.
Install a good personal firewall program to slow down pop-ups and other nastiness.
Password protect any personal folders where sensitive documents, photos, etc are stored.
Download and install a password storage program like "Password Safe" to securely store your usernames and passcodes.
Use strong passwords.
Change passwords every 6 months for your bank, eBay, PayPal and other financial institutions.
For more free tips see http://www.fixcomputerproblemsguide.com
Hard Drive Crashed? Repair or Rescue Any Hard Drive... visit http://www.fixcomputerproblemsguide.com/Hard-Drive-Crashed.html
From Chancer Reese, your Small Office Tech Diva.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Chancer_Reese
It doesn't matter if your computer is compromised by professional villains or just by the geeky kid across the street, once your sensitive files have been broken into your life may never be the same. Spyware is one of the most unrated forms of "espionage" occurring in the world today.
Most computer users think of this kind of program as a being just as an annoying or embarrassing kind of prank. But criminal-minded programmers know better.
In the past, spyware and its close cousin adware were simply wicked bits of "paid advertisements" for shady website publishers to attract customers. But soon, more malicious coders determined to use these programs to really "spy" on innocent people and dig out as many of their victim's secrets to use or sell on the black market as possible.
These new programs are being crafted by "professional" development teams just like a "real" software company. The programs are sophisticated and slick.
At its most innocent level, these spy packages just track your browsing habits (where you go and what you do on the web). Your email addresses are also raided. This information is then sold to websites for advertising.
At an intermediate level, a "keystroke" logger (a program that observes and records what you type on your keyboard) can be used in combination with web-tracking software to dig out the keywords, passwords and usernames you use when visiting sites such as eBay, PayPal and your bank.
The final level is in which spyware has completely overwhelmed your computer and all your sensitive information is laid-bare to any prying eyes that want to view it. Your ID/SSN numbers, your home address, personal photographs, your banking or other financial information is dug out and sold to the highest bidder.
This is then used to create everything from fake driver's licenses for teenagers, terrorists, and illegals to making dupe credit cards used to run up charges under your name. Your "identity" has been stolen and compromised for years to come.
Your computer can be turned into a "zombie" and thousands and thousands of fake emails could be sent through your connection to the Internet. This will result in your ISP (Internet Service Provider) taking action and limiting or shutting down your account. And with unpaid charges bouncing about your credit card report will soon be in a shambles as well.
What you should do now to lock down your PC...
Download from the Net or buy a good anti-spyware software package. For free try Ad-Aware or SpyBot's S&D. Or use SpySweeper if you need an industrial strength cleaner.
Scan your hard drive and follow any instructions on removing items.
Install a good personal firewall program to slow down pop-ups and other nastiness.
Password protect any personal folders where sensitive documents, photos, etc are stored.
Download and install a password storage program like "Password Safe" to securely store your usernames and passcodes.
Use strong passwords.
Change passwords every 6 months for your bank, eBay, PayPal and other financial institutions.
For more free tips see http://www.fixcomputerproblemsguide.com
Hard Drive Crashed? Repair or Rescue Any Hard Drive... visit http://www.fixcomputerproblemsguide.com/Hard-Drive-Crashed.html
From Chancer Reese, your Small Office Tech Diva.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Chancer_Reese
Computer Problem Tips - 10 Spyware Warning Signs - Are You Infected? By Chancer Reese
It's been estimated that over 60% of all computers have some kind of spyware installed and most of their owners are unaware! If you are tired of your PC running slow and filling your screen with those nasty pop-up then you will want to read the 10 warning signs listed below. Afterwards check out my "action plan" and what you can do to rid yourself of your spyware infestation.
1. Browser Hijacks - When I used to get a call from a customer saying that their homepage had suddenly changed, without them doing anything, I knew to bring my anti-spyware fighting software. Malicious programmers love to change your browser settings to transfer your homepage to their "client's" websites.
2. PC is Crashing - Without warning, your PC starts crashing, freezing or locking up, but you haven't added any new software or updated anything recently.
3. Pop-Ups - You open your browser to visit your favorite blog site then "WHAM!" You are suddenly drowning in pop-ups! Your screen is full of brightly colored lures to porn, gambling or gaming websites. You click on the "Close" or the "X" to shut it down...uh, oh something is downloading to your machine!
4. Strange Favorites - You notice that there is a strange looking icon in your favorites. You click on it out of curiosity. You are caught in a webring of girly webpages...drat it, you're at work!
5. Strange Icon on Desktop or in Systray - You know notice a "winking" red light on the bottom-right in your Systray display. It says you have been infected. You hurriedly click on it to see what is wrong. Then a pop-up appears that says it is downloading an "anti-virus killer"...uh, oh.
6. Strange New Files Appear - You are poking about in your files and you notice that some odd, spyware-killer software has a folder on your hard drive. Where did that one come from?
7. Strange Emails - While searching for a note you dropped to the boss, you notice that you have lots of strange emails in your "Send" folder. You didn't send them, especially the ones in a foreign language.
8. Strange Toolbars - You open up your browser and now you have 3 toolbars instead of just one. What gives? When you try to remove, or change the settings, they keep coming back no matter what you do.
9. PC runs sluggish or slow - Granted your computer may not be the newest kid on the block but lately it has been moving slower than the Street Dept fixing a pothole. It takes several minutes for it logon and go out on the web. And it takes forever for you do to the simplest things anymore.
10. Hard Drive is running all the time - You have noticed that your hard drive is running all the time now. Even when nobody is on the machine! You can see the activity light blinking away and you can also hear the drive being accessed. Huh?
Action Plan - What to do next...
Download from the Net or buy a good anti-spyware software package. For free try Ad-Aware or SpyBot's S&D. Or use SpySweeper if you need an industrial strength cleaner.
Scan your hard drive and follow any instructions on removing items.
Install a good personal firewall program to slow down pop-ups and other nastiness.
Copyright 2008 by Chancer Reese
For more free tips see http://www.fixcomputerproblemsguide.com
Hard Drive Crashed? Repair or Rescue Any Hard Drive... visit http://www.fixcomputerproblemsguide.com/Hard-Drive-Crashed.html
From Chancer Reese, your Small Office Tech Diva.
1. Browser Hijacks - When I used to get a call from a customer saying that their homepage had suddenly changed, without them doing anything, I knew to bring my anti-spyware fighting software. Malicious programmers love to change your browser settings to transfer your homepage to their "client's" websites.
2. PC is Crashing - Without warning, your PC starts crashing, freezing or locking up, but you haven't added any new software or updated anything recently.
3. Pop-Ups - You open your browser to visit your favorite blog site then "WHAM!" You are suddenly drowning in pop-ups! Your screen is full of brightly colored lures to porn, gambling or gaming websites. You click on the "Close" or the "X" to shut it down...uh, oh something is downloading to your machine!
4. Strange Favorites - You notice that there is a strange looking icon in your favorites. You click on it out of curiosity. You are caught in a webring of girly webpages...drat it, you're at work!
5. Strange Icon on Desktop or in Systray - You know notice a "winking" red light on the bottom-right in your Systray display. It says you have been infected. You hurriedly click on it to see what is wrong. Then a pop-up appears that says it is downloading an "anti-virus killer"...uh, oh.
6. Strange New Files Appear - You are poking about in your files and you notice that some odd, spyware-killer software has a folder on your hard drive. Where did that one come from?
7. Strange Emails - While searching for a note you dropped to the boss, you notice that you have lots of strange emails in your "Send" folder. You didn't send them, especially the ones in a foreign language.
8. Strange Toolbars - You open up your browser and now you have 3 toolbars instead of just one. What gives? When you try to remove, or change the settings, they keep coming back no matter what you do.
9. PC runs sluggish or slow - Granted your computer may not be the newest kid on the block but lately it has been moving slower than the Street Dept fixing a pothole. It takes several minutes for it logon and go out on the web. And it takes forever for you do to the simplest things anymore.
10. Hard Drive is running all the time - You have noticed that your hard drive is running all the time now. Even when nobody is on the machine! You can see the activity light blinking away and you can also hear the drive being accessed. Huh?
Action Plan - What to do next...
Download from the Net or buy a good anti-spyware software package. For free try Ad-Aware or SpyBot's S&D. Or use SpySweeper if you need an industrial strength cleaner.
Scan your hard drive and follow any instructions on removing items.
Install a good personal firewall program to slow down pop-ups and other nastiness.
Copyright 2008 by Chancer Reese
For more free tips see http://www.fixcomputerproblemsguide.com
Hard Drive Crashed? Repair or Rescue Any Hard Drive... visit http://www.fixcomputerproblemsguide.com/Hard-Drive-Crashed.html
From Chancer Reese, your Small Office Tech Diva.
Ways to Make My Computer Run Faster By Logan Albright
With multiple uses for computers today, everyone is looking for new ways to speed up their computer. Many have found spending a couple of hours each day deleting their cookies necessary. When searching for resources, each website tags the computer's id number and fills cookies very quickly. As such, is necessary to keep these cookies removed constantly. With the new Internet Explorer 7, the tool menu in the bar makes it simple to remove your cookies.
These days, it is important that you Defragment your computer regularly. In the past, you could get by with Defragging once a week, yet, it has become an everyday affair. So, after you finish doing your work, take a break and use this time to do the Defragging. By the time you have return from your rest, the computer will have finished the process and you can then resume work.
Defragmenting your computer is not the only thing you can do. After the Defragmenting has finished, you should also do a disk cleanup to help compress your old files. Doing both procedures takes a little time, but are well worth it. This is because these two programs help prevent your computer from shutting down or locking up.
Keeping your desktop free from unused icons will make a difference in your computer's speed. Things such as short cuts, high resolution wallpapers, graphics, cursors, and skins slow your computer down.
If you have an older computer, say three years old, it might be a good idea to upgrade it. Rams and other chips tend to get outdated very quickly in that short span of time. When you upgrade your Ram, it will greatly increase the speed of your computer. Also, it is fairly inexpensive and easy to install, providing you with the opportunity to touch the edge of the computer with your forearms for about 60 seconds, enough to ground yourself and to protect you and the chips from static that may still be inside the tower. If you are not computer savvy, be sure to talk to a computer expert to find out what sort of chips you need to get before dismantling and fixing your computer. Most experts, such as the people at Radio Shack are very educated in such fields and will tell you what you need to know at no cost.
Sometimes, computers may be infected by some of the viruses picked up from the websites you visit. It is imperative to have some sort of anti-virus and anti-spyware programs installed on your computer. One of the more popular program used by PC owners today is Tend-Micro, a program that not only tells you when that there is a virus present, it also quarantines the virus and then fixes it.
All computer users are recommended to purchase a registry cleaner as it will eliminate any clutter or junk that has built up from installing and uninstalling programs. Without a registry cleaning program, your computer could become sluggish, crammed full of error messages, and may have regular computer systems crashes.
Click Here to speed up your computer for free. Logan Albright is an authority on troubleshooting computer problems. He provides valuable advice to thousands of people on how to optimize their computers through a proper computer check up.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Logan_Albright
These days, it is important that you Defragment your computer regularly. In the past, you could get by with Defragging once a week, yet, it has become an everyday affair. So, after you finish doing your work, take a break and use this time to do the Defragging. By the time you have return from your rest, the computer will have finished the process and you can then resume work.
Defragmenting your computer is not the only thing you can do. After the Defragmenting has finished, you should also do a disk cleanup to help compress your old files. Doing both procedures takes a little time, but are well worth it. This is because these two programs help prevent your computer from shutting down or locking up.
Keeping your desktop free from unused icons will make a difference in your computer's speed. Things such as short cuts, high resolution wallpapers, graphics, cursors, and skins slow your computer down.
If you have an older computer, say three years old, it might be a good idea to upgrade it. Rams and other chips tend to get outdated very quickly in that short span of time. When you upgrade your Ram, it will greatly increase the speed of your computer. Also, it is fairly inexpensive and easy to install, providing you with the opportunity to touch the edge of the computer with your forearms for about 60 seconds, enough to ground yourself and to protect you and the chips from static that may still be inside the tower. If you are not computer savvy, be sure to talk to a computer expert to find out what sort of chips you need to get before dismantling and fixing your computer. Most experts, such as the people at Radio Shack are very educated in such fields and will tell you what you need to know at no cost.
Sometimes, computers may be infected by some of the viruses picked up from the websites you visit. It is imperative to have some sort of anti-virus and anti-spyware programs installed on your computer. One of the more popular program used by PC owners today is Tend-Micro, a program that not only tells you when that there is a virus present, it also quarantines the virus and then fixes it.
All computer users are recommended to purchase a registry cleaner as it will eliminate any clutter or junk that has built up from installing and uninstalling programs. Without a registry cleaning program, your computer could become sluggish, crammed full of error messages, and may have regular computer systems crashes.
Click Here to speed up your computer for free. Logan Albright is an authority on troubleshooting computer problems. He provides valuable advice to thousands of people on how to optimize their computers through a proper computer check up.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Logan_Albright
How Popular Internet Speed Accelerator Tools Work By Kelly Hunter
Everyone wants faster Internet access these days, not everyone can afford the expensive costs of Internet on T1 connections so most people are forced to opt from services from other subscribers and make use of a variety of tools and services such as the Internet Speed Accelerator tools that seem to be available today. A variety of tools and services are available for use and these tools and services perform the required task by taking advantage of a series of technologies and services in order to boost the speed of your existing Internet connection to something which you would find much more appealing.
These products are moderately expensive and one technology that some of these tools use to boost your Internet connection speeds is by boosting a number of settings which might be related to TCP/IP technology which is the main technology that guides the transmission as well as delivery of the information over the Internet. By boosting these settings such Internet Speed Accelerator tools ensure that you receive and process your data at a much faster rate than usual, allowing you to take advantage of a whole lot of opportunities which fast Internet access tends to open you up to.
Sometimes the speed of your Internet access is not hampered so much by external hardware but internal hardware as well such as your computers memory. A number of solutions will also provide additional assistance by boosting your computer memory and helping your computer run a whole lot faster. This solutions works with a variety of Internet access technologies because it’s working on your computer and not the external connection that you rely on in order to access the Internet. By doing this it keeps everything faster on a local level while giving you the chance to use the Internet connection you pay for better.
Desktop settings can help your computer run much more faster than you expect, some of them also make use of a number of online tools and services in order to boost your connection such as the channeling of all your data through high-speed VPN proxies which are connected to T1 or devices greater than T1 speeds on the Internet. Most of these solutions are more or less reasonably priced which allows you to make use of fast internet at rates much lower than what would be obtained elsewhere. Some of these tools require you pay a monthly fee while others require that you pay a one-off subscription in order to enjoy their services and further your benefits.
Some tools even do much more than speeding up your regular Internet connection, some of these tools go the extra mail by helping you speed up your e-mail connection as well. E-mail is just as important as regular Internet; after all it is the preferred means of Internet person-to-person communication so you can easily make use of Internet Speed Accelerator tools that provide you with this opportunity as well and allow you to do whatever it is that you do on the Internet with maximum proficiency and profitability.
Kelly Hunter owns and operates http://www.bestinternetspeedaccelerator.com and writes about Internet Speed Accelerator tools.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kelly_Hunter
These products are moderately expensive and one technology that some of these tools use to boost your Internet connection speeds is by boosting a number of settings which might be related to TCP/IP technology which is the main technology that guides the transmission as well as delivery of the information over the Internet. By boosting these settings such Internet Speed Accelerator tools ensure that you receive and process your data at a much faster rate than usual, allowing you to take advantage of a whole lot of opportunities which fast Internet access tends to open you up to.
Sometimes the speed of your Internet access is not hampered so much by external hardware but internal hardware as well such as your computers memory. A number of solutions will also provide additional assistance by boosting your computer memory and helping your computer run a whole lot faster. This solutions works with a variety of Internet access technologies because it’s working on your computer and not the external connection that you rely on in order to access the Internet. By doing this it keeps everything faster on a local level while giving you the chance to use the Internet connection you pay for better.
Desktop settings can help your computer run much more faster than you expect, some of them also make use of a number of online tools and services in order to boost your connection such as the channeling of all your data through high-speed VPN proxies which are connected to T1 or devices greater than T1 speeds on the Internet. Most of these solutions are more or less reasonably priced which allows you to make use of fast internet at rates much lower than what would be obtained elsewhere. Some of these tools require you pay a monthly fee while others require that you pay a one-off subscription in order to enjoy their services and further your benefits.
Some tools even do much more than speeding up your regular Internet connection, some of these tools go the extra mail by helping you speed up your e-mail connection as well. E-mail is just as important as regular Internet; after all it is the preferred means of Internet person-to-person communication so you can easily make use of Internet Speed Accelerator tools that provide you with this opportunity as well and allow you to do whatever it is that you do on the Internet with maximum proficiency and profitability.
Kelly Hunter owns and operates http://www.bestinternetspeedaccelerator.com and writes about Internet Speed Accelerator tools.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kelly_Hunter
Monday, July 28, 2008
Data Recovery Procedures bu Sonny Felker
Data Recovery Procedures will be required no matter who you are or where you work. What type of computer you use to store your data on is always as risk.
With viruses, power surges, thunderstorms, natural disasters, human mistakes, and hackers around the threats are always real.
To be on the safe side, you'll need to back up your files and keep doing it on a regular basis. In the event of your hard drive failing, you'll need data recovery and this is the only option available.
Before you travel down that long road of data recovery, there are some things to keep in mind. If you are using your computer and a program starts to act funny. You should shut things down immediately. You may also hear some very odd sounds as well which is the first sign that your hard driving is working overtime.
If you shut your computer down immediately at this point, you may prevent data loss from happening. When you don't shut your computer down and allow the failing hard drive to continue running, it is only a matter of time before it destroys itself. This will ultimately result in the loss of your data.
When this happens and you lose all of your data, you should never try to fix the hard drive yourself unless you know exactly what to do. At this stage professional data recovery services aren't just a luxury. They are something you must have.
The process for data recovery is time consuming, and requires both tools and a clean work environment. Trying to repair a hard drive on your own is very challenging, and could end up making matters far worse if you don't know what you are doing.
Even though there is software out there for data recovery, you shouldn't use them unless you know what you are doing. With most hard drive problems being very intricate. Software can do more harm than good. Even though companies may claim that their software will fix the problem and retrieve your data. You should always use caution and simply avoid the use of do it yourself software.
To be on the safe side with your hard drive and retrieve the data that you lost, you should always turn to a local data recovery service. This way you'll know that your hard drive is in good hands and it will be fixed the right way. Professional services can fix nearly any hard drive problem and recover any type of data.
In some cases, your hard drive may be beyond repair even for professional data recovery specialists. If this happens you should be prepared to buy a new hard drive and count your blessings that you thought to backing up your data in advance.
In the computer industry, disasters aren't any different then in real life. They can come in the form of an office fire, computer crashes, hard drive failure, missing IT documents,stolen hardware, and many other forms. Disasters can be very traumatic and stressful although there are actions that you can take.
Even though disasters can occur at any time recovery planning doesn't cross the mind of business owners or individuals. Most just carry out their normal day to day routines never aware of what could result from a disaster. Then when disaster does strike most tend to freak out and wonder just what they can do to fix the situation at hand.
If you are prepared for a disaster or hard drive failure then your business will be able to deal with anything that happens. The first step in planning and preparing for disaster is to analyze your business or operations.
You should determine how often your systems go down, and how you can manage operations without the equipment. You should also find out how long it would take you to fix the equipment, and what your business can do to make ends meet when the equipment is unavailable.
Something else you'll need to do is identify the risks of possible disaster. This can include computer failure,loss of power and hardware problems. You should always include the causes as well as the solution in your plans.
If your office suffers from a disaster and cannot be used for a period of time, you should always have another location that you can go to continue your business.
In the event of a disaster you should always have a dedicated team that will work on fixing any problems. This team should be responsible for your recovery plan and hold regular meetings to make sure that everything is accurate. Then, if disaster should strike your team should be well enough prepared to take care of anything that comes your way.
On a frequent basis you should create backups of your IT systems and test the backups that you have created. Always make sure that the backups you made are in a safe place and out of the way of harm.
You should also check with your disaster recovery team as well and make sure that they have the location of your backups noted in their recovery plans.
One of the most important aspects of data recovery and disaster planning is to keep an up to date inventory on all of your equipment and material. You should always stay on top of this to make sure that you can easily identify what you have and how to go about replacing equipment whenever something happens.
When you keep a record of your suppliers and their phone numbers you can have them avalable for easy access in the event of an emergency.
Even though it may be easier to document all of your recover plans on your computer, you should also record them on paper as well. Disasters can render your computers useless, which would it very hard to access plans that are stored on your IT systems. If you have them noted on paper as well you can access them without any problems.
Above everything else, you should always think about the possible disasters that can occur at any time and how to be prepared for them. When you think about disasters and plan things to do before hand. You'll find that you can handle any type of disaster.
This way a disaster doesn't have to stop you from carrying out your normal day to day operations and will making a data recovery a little easier.
source : http://www.submityourarticle.com/articles/Sonny-Felker
With viruses, power surges, thunderstorms, natural disasters, human mistakes, and hackers around the threats are always real.
To be on the safe side, you'll need to back up your files and keep doing it on a regular basis. In the event of your hard drive failing, you'll need data recovery and this is the only option available.
Before you travel down that long road of data recovery, there are some things to keep in mind. If you are using your computer and a program starts to act funny. You should shut things down immediately. You may also hear some very odd sounds as well which is the first sign that your hard driving is working overtime.
If you shut your computer down immediately at this point, you may prevent data loss from happening. When you don't shut your computer down and allow the failing hard drive to continue running, it is only a matter of time before it destroys itself. This will ultimately result in the loss of your data.
When this happens and you lose all of your data, you should never try to fix the hard drive yourself unless you know exactly what to do. At this stage professional data recovery services aren't just a luxury. They are something you must have.
The process for data recovery is time consuming, and requires both tools and a clean work environment. Trying to repair a hard drive on your own is very challenging, and could end up making matters far worse if you don't know what you are doing.
Even though there is software out there for data recovery, you shouldn't use them unless you know what you are doing. With most hard drive problems being very intricate. Software can do more harm than good. Even though companies may claim that their software will fix the problem and retrieve your data. You should always use caution and simply avoid the use of do it yourself software.
To be on the safe side with your hard drive and retrieve the data that you lost, you should always turn to a local data recovery service. This way you'll know that your hard drive is in good hands and it will be fixed the right way. Professional services can fix nearly any hard drive problem and recover any type of data.
In some cases, your hard drive may be beyond repair even for professional data recovery specialists. If this happens you should be prepared to buy a new hard drive and count your blessings that you thought to backing up your data in advance.
In the computer industry, disasters aren't any different then in real life. They can come in the form of an office fire, computer crashes, hard drive failure, missing IT documents,stolen hardware, and many other forms. Disasters can be very traumatic and stressful although there are actions that you can take.
Even though disasters can occur at any time recovery planning doesn't cross the mind of business owners or individuals. Most just carry out their normal day to day routines never aware of what could result from a disaster. Then when disaster does strike most tend to freak out and wonder just what they can do to fix the situation at hand.
If you are prepared for a disaster or hard drive failure then your business will be able to deal with anything that happens. The first step in planning and preparing for disaster is to analyze your business or operations.
You should determine how often your systems go down, and how you can manage operations without the equipment. You should also find out how long it would take you to fix the equipment, and what your business can do to make ends meet when the equipment is unavailable.
Something else you'll need to do is identify the risks of possible disaster. This can include computer failure,loss of power and hardware problems. You should always include the causes as well as the solution in your plans.
If your office suffers from a disaster and cannot be used for a period of time, you should always have another location that you can go to continue your business.
In the event of a disaster you should always have a dedicated team that will work on fixing any problems. This team should be responsible for your recovery plan and hold regular meetings to make sure that everything is accurate. Then, if disaster should strike your team should be well enough prepared to take care of anything that comes your way.
On a frequent basis you should create backups of your IT systems and test the backups that you have created. Always make sure that the backups you made are in a safe place and out of the way of harm.
You should also check with your disaster recovery team as well and make sure that they have the location of your backups noted in their recovery plans.
One of the most important aspects of data recovery and disaster planning is to keep an up to date inventory on all of your equipment and material. You should always stay on top of this to make sure that you can easily identify what you have and how to go about replacing equipment whenever something happens.
When you keep a record of your suppliers and their phone numbers you can have them avalable for easy access in the event of an emergency.
Even though it may be easier to document all of your recover plans on your computer, you should also record them on paper as well. Disasters can render your computers useless, which would it very hard to access plans that are stored on your IT systems. If you have them noted on paper as well you can access them without any problems.
Above everything else, you should always think about the possible disasters that can occur at any time and how to be prepared for them. When you think about disasters and plan things to do before hand. You'll find that you can handle any type of disaster.
This way a disaster doesn't have to stop you from carrying out your normal day to day operations and will making a data recovery a little easier.
source : http://www.submityourarticle.com/articles/Sonny-Felker
Does Your Internet Life seem Strangely Unfulfilled? by Sandra Prior
You buy a new PC, it comes with Windows and there’s a browser included. It doesn’t seem like there’s much more to know, but the truth is rather different.
Make the Right Choice
Internet Explorer may have the lion’s share of the browser market, but do you think it’s the best product? Have you tried anything else to be able to make a fair comparison?
Consider the following.
Are you still using an old version of Internet Explorer? Unless you have an old PC, and are short on RAM or disk space, you should make the effort to upgrade to Internet Explorer 6.0 or greater and take advantage of the latest features.
If you’ve never tried Mozilla Firefox or Opera, it’s worth taking a look because there’s very little out there it can’t handle, and yet it’s small and fast.
Learn How it Works
Hardly anyone bothers exploring the help files for an application until they get stuck, and this is especially true with browsers. You’ll miss lots of potential useful features if you do this, so spend some time looking around your Help system and see what you discover.
There are a few generic tips that work with most browsers, particularly when it comes to reducing those annoying Internet delays. For example, if you have a list of pages to visit, right click on 2 or 3 links in succession and choose the ‘Open in new window’ option. If one of the sites is slow to load, you can be viewing one of the others in the meantime.
Sometimes pages can take ages to display, don’t wait forever. If you click on Stop, most of the page will often appear immediately. Even if it doesn’t, clicking on Reload may get you the rest more speedily.
The main browsers can generally do just about anything you need – browsing, FTP, mail, news, downloading, and more. That doesn’t mean you have to use them for all those things. Specialist utilities are often more powerful and effective. For example, it would make more sense to use an FTP program when uploading files to your web site. You may need to change the file attributes using CHMOD (unix servers) and you won’t be able to do this with your browser.
Internet Explorer can be set up automatically to collect favorite web pages for you, so you can read them offline whenever you like. Offline browsing like this is a great way to cut down on phone costs, but dedicated tools designed for this purpose do a much better job. Along the same lines, specialist download tools like Download Accelerator can help download files more quickly and effectively than any browser, plus it has the ability to resume broken downloads.
Coping with Common Situations
Even if your browser doesn’t appear to do what you want, there’s often a simple workaround – you just have to find it.
Clicking on a link usually displays or plays a file. If you want to save it to disk instead, right click on the link and select Save As.
To save a complete web page in Internet Explorer, just choose File, Save As.
Printing a web page containing frames can be difficult. But the designers knew this when they made it. Stay away from framed sites if you want to print.
Author Info:
Subscribe to Sandra Prior Newsletter and get up to date computer technology news delivered right to your email box for free. See website for details http://usacomputers.rr.nu and http://sacomputers.rr.nu
Source: Article Depot - Search Free Articles
Make the Right Choice
Internet Explorer may have the lion’s share of the browser market, but do you think it’s the best product? Have you tried anything else to be able to make a fair comparison?
Consider the following.
Are you still using an old version of Internet Explorer? Unless you have an old PC, and are short on RAM or disk space, you should make the effort to upgrade to Internet Explorer 6.0 or greater and take advantage of the latest features.
If you’ve never tried Mozilla Firefox or Opera, it’s worth taking a look because there’s very little out there it can’t handle, and yet it’s small and fast.
Learn How it Works
Hardly anyone bothers exploring the help files for an application until they get stuck, and this is especially true with browsers. You’ll miss lots of potential useful features if you do this, so spend some time looking around your Help system and see what you discover.
There are a few generic tips that work with most browsers, particularly when it comes to reducing those annoying Internet delays. For example, if you have a list of pages to visit, right click on 2 or 3 links in succession and choose the ‘Open in new window’ option. If one of the sites is slow to load, you can be viewing one of the others in the meantime.
Sometimes pages can take ages to display, don’t wait forever. If you click on Stop, most of the page will often appear immediately. Even if it doesn’t, clicking on Reload may get you the rest more speedily.
The main browsers can generally do just about anything you need – browsing, FTP, mail, news, downloading, and more. That doesn’t mean you have to use them for all those things. Specialist utilities are often more powerful and effective. For example, it would make more sense to use an FTP program when uploading files to your web site. You may need to change the file attributes using CHMOD (unix servers) and you won’t be able to do this with your browser.
Internet Explorer can be set up automatically to collect favorite web pages for you, so you can read them offline whenever you like. Offline browsing like this is a great way to cut down on phone costs, but dedicated tools designed for this purpose do a much better job. Along the same lines, specialist download tools like Download Accelerator can help download files more quickly and effectively than any browser, plus it has the ability to resume broken downloads.
Coping with Common Situations
Even if your browser doesn’t appear to do what you want, there’s often a simple workaround – you just have to find it.
Clicking on a link usually displays or plays a file. If you want to save it to disk instead, right click on the link and select Save As.
To save a complete web page in Internet Explorer, just choose File, Save As.
Printing a web page containing frames can be difficult. But the designers knew this when they made it. Stay away from framed sites if you want to print.
Author Info:
Subscribe to Sandra Prior Newsletter and get up to date computer technology news delivered right to your email box for free. See website for details http://usacomputers.rr.nu and http://sacomputers.rr.nu
Source: Article Depot - Search Free Articles
What are browser hijackers? By Mindy Matter
If you are one of the millions of people who have suffered a browser hijacking, you likely know it, and you clearly remember what you were doing when it happened. The best known form of browser hijacking is when a sudden flood of pop-ups, many of them obscene, explode over your screen and you are forced to use the CTRL-ATL-DEL sequence to close your browser and regain control of your computer. Here is a quick guide you can use to identify the different kinds of browser hijackings and how you can rid yourself of them once and for all.
What is a browser hijack?
A browser hijack is exactly as it sounds: an attempt from a third party to take control of your web browser and use it for their own nefarious purposes. Some browser hijacks can be done to spread awareness of a particular website, but aren’t actually dangerous. In some cases, though, they can be malicious, and they can steal information like passwords you have saved into your browser automatically. Perhaps the most common type of browser hijack is done by a program that installs itself on your computer without you knowing. The program will add several favorites to your list without your knowledge, and it will change the start page of your browser and even some registry keys. When you attempt to reset your browser, you will be unable to do so.
With these types of hijacks, you are also falling victim to keyloggers that record passwords for sensitive sites like online banking and email. How can you tell if you have a browser hijacking program on your machine? Let’s look.
What might you notice?
The most obvious sign of a browser hijack is that your start page has been changed and you can’t change it back. You may notice a complete slowdown in the performance of your computer since many browser hijacks work as fully functional programs that run in the background of your computer from the time you turn it on to the time you turn it off. These programs are often resource hogs that cause everything else on your machine to run slower.
You may also notice that a whole new set of bookmarks have been added to your browser that you’ve never seen before. Some websites have been known to add one bookmark (usually one for that particular site), but if you see a whole new folder full of questionable bookmarks, you may have a browser hijacker installed on your machine.
How did it get there?
Just like most malware programs, browser hijackers find their ways onto your machine in a number of different ways. The most common way is via peer to peer software programs like BitTorrent and Kazaa. Often times, the person who you are getting a file from doesn’t know that they are sending an infected file to you so your infection isn’t intentional.
A second spot where many people receive browser hijacker programs from is bundled with freeware or shareware programs downloaded from sources that aren’t trustworthy. That’s why it is always a good idea to download your free software programs only from the manufacturers’ site or from a site that promises that they are virus and spyware free.
Finally, some viruses come from websites that automatically install them on your computer. If you have been visiting some less than reputable websites, it is a good idea to avoid them at all costs in the future. These files simply install themselves without asking your permission or even notifying you that it is happening.
What should I do?
The first step you should take if you feel that you have a hijacker installed on your computer is head to the Microsoft Update site to ensure that you have all the patches and updates you need. Microsoft does a great job of stopping many of these.
Once you’ve updated and restarted your computer, you need to install a reputable anti-spyware program on your computer to run in the background and monitor what bad programs you come into contact with. Two reputable programs are provided by Paretologic and PC Tools Software. Both not only remove browser hijackers they also provide the dynamic monitoring you need to protect you against future hijacks. You can download and install either of their programs in minutes. Run a full scan of your machine immediately. Once you’ve removed any initial problems, you should run a full scan of your machine at least once per week to ensure that you haven’t come down with any browser hijackers or any other program that can affect your machine in a negative way.
Finally, make sure you keep your anti-virus and anti-spyware programs updated at all times. If you don’t have them installed, you should purchase and install them right away. Even if you have the latest anti-virus program, you should still strongly consider an anti-spyware program since, even though there may be some overlap between them, they generally detect a different suite of programs.
Author Info:
By Mindy Matter for http://www.free-web-browsers.com/ - Here you'll learn about online privacy and how to remove adware. http://www.free-web-browsers.com/support/browser-hijackers.shtml
Source: Article Depot - Search Free Articles
What is a browser hijack?
A browser hijack is exactly as it sounds: an attempt from a third party to take control of your web browser and use it for their own nefarious purposes. Some browser hijacks can be done to spread awareness of a particular website, but aren’t actually dangerous. In some cases, though, they can be malicious, and they can steal information like passwords you have saved into your browser automatically. Perhaps the most common type of browser hijack is done by a program that installs itself on your computer without you knowing. The program will add several favorites to your list without your knowledge, and it will change the start page of your browser and even some registry keys. When you attempt to reset your browser, you will be unable to do so.
With these types of hijacks, you are also falling victim to keyloggers that record passwords for sensitive sites like online banking and email. How can you tell if you have a browser hijacking program on your machine? Let’s look.
What might you notice?
The most obvious sign of a browser hijack is that your start page has been changed and you can’t change it back. You may notice a complete slowdown in the performance of your computer since many browser hijacks work as fully functional programs that run in the background of your computer from the time you turn it on to the time you turn it off. These programs are often resource hogs that cause everything else on your machine to run slower.
You may also notice that a whole new set of bookmarks have been added to your browser that you’ve never seen before. Some websites have been known to add one bookmark (usually one for that particular site), but if you see a whole new folder full of questionable bookmarks, you may have a browser hijacker installed on your machine.
How did it get there?
Just like most malware programs, browser hijackers find their ways onto your machine in a number of different ways. The most common way is via peer to peer software programs like BitTorrent and Kazaa. Often times, the person who you are getting a file from doesn’t know that they are sending an infected file to you so your infection isn’t intentional.
A second spot where many people receive browser hijacker programs from is bundled with freeware or shareware programs downloaded from sources that aren’t trustworthy. That’s why it is always a good idea to download your free software programs only from the manufacturers’ site or from a site that promises that they are virus and spyware free.
Finally, some viruses come from websites that automatically install them on your computer. If you have been visiting some less than reputable websites, it is a good idea to avoid them at all costs in the future. These files simply install themselves without asking your permission or even notifying you that it is happening.
What should I do?
The first step you should take if you feel that you have a hijacker installed on your computer is head to the Microsoft Update site to ensure that you have all the patches and updates you need. Microsoft does a great job of stopping many of these.
Once you’ve updated and restarted your computer, you need to install a reputable anti-spyware program on your computer to run in the background and monitor what bad programs you come into contact with. Two reputable programs are provided by Paretologic and PC Tools Software. Both not only remove browser hijackers they also provide the dynamic monitoring you need to protect you against future hijacks. You can download and install either of their programs in minutes. Run a full scan of your machine immediately. Once you’ve removed any initial problems, you should run a full scan of your machine at least once per week to ensure that you haven’t come down with any browser hijackers or any other program that can affect your machine in a negative way.
Finally, make sure you keep your anti-virus and anti-spyware programs updated at all times. If you don’t have them installed, you should purchase and install them right away. Even if you have the latest anti-virus program, you should still strongly consider an anti-spyware program since, even though there may be some overlap between them, they generally detect a different suite of programs.
Author Info:
By Mindy Matter for http://www.free-web-browsers.com/ - Here you'll learn about online privacy and how to remove adware. http://www.free-web-browsers.com/support/browser-hijackers.shtml
Source: Article Depot - Search Free Articles
5 Tips To Make An Effective Customer Relationship Management Tools by Christy Myers
The big business companies need special system to manage their last customer base. Normally the small business entrepreneurs do not need automation because limited customer base.
Looking to the present demand, the customer relationship management (CRM) tools are introduced by many software companies. There are many effective CRM tools available in the market. But one of the important things is how to manage the CRM software more effectively.
Customer-relationship management (CRM) offerings services to the large businesses while small companies do not need complicated system. However some CRM software handle design to handle single user system to help small businesses to manage good customers relation.
Here are the five tips to manage cost-effective CRM.
1. You must have to install the full version of the customer relationship management software to your manage the customer services. If you have limited customer than don’t install the much complex system.
2. You must have to think the installing the customer management software can’t do all the magic. You must have to know the software properly so you need to practice the software properly. Apart from managing the customer database you must have to manage good communication skills and handling the customer effectively.
3. You must have to prepare date base so you can easily see the full details and records of the dealing with the customer. You also make note of the special discount and free services offered by you.
4. You must have to keep your date base clean. Do not mess your database because any mess with the databases can create problem for you. It means you must have to manage good quality data and manage it carefully on the daily bases. The software can’t give good result till proper database is not feed.
5. It is advisable to handle CRM software by one person only or any IT personal.
Author Info:
Christy Myers is a writer for http://www.1866crmsoftware.com, the premier website to find CRM software, CRM software solution, web based CRM software, free CRM software, CRM software support and many more.
Source: Article Depot - Search Free Articles
Looking to the present demand, the customer relationship management (CRM) tools are introduced by many software companies. There are many effective CRM tools available in the market. But one of the important things is how to manage the CRM software more effectively.
Customer-relationship management (CRM) offerings services to the large businesses while small companies do not need complicated system. However some CRM software handle design to handle single user system to help small businesses to manage good customers relation.
Here are the five tips to manage cost-effective CRM.
1. You must have to install the full version of the customer relationship management software to your manage the customer services. If you have limited customer than don’t install the much complex system.
2. You must have to think the installing the customer management software can’t do all the magic. You must have to know the software properly so you need to practice the software properly. Apart from managing the customer database you must have to manage good communication skills and handling the customer effectively.
3. You must have to prepare date base so you can easily see the full details and records of the dealing with the customer. You also make note of the special discount and free services offered by you.
4. You must have to keep your date base clean. Do not mess your database because any mess with the databases can create problem for you. It means you must have to manage good quality data and manage it carefully on the daily bases. The software can’t give good result till proper database is not feed.
5. It is advisable to handle CRM software by one person only or any IT personal.
Author Info:
Christy Myers is a writer for http://www.1866crmsoftware.com, the premier website to find CRM software, CRM software solution, web based CRM software, free CRM software, CRM software support and many more.
Source: Article Depot - Search Free Articles
Recruitments, Applicants, and Staffing Agency Software by Caitlina Fuller
Candidate sourcing could be one of the toughest jobs to do. This job requires people-handling skills and technical knowledge. Looking at the importance of the recruitment people, it is easy to conclude that no business could exist without this department. The major uses of the recruitment department include:
* Being able to encourage candidates to apply for a certain vacancy in an organization. * Being able to create a pool of candidates that would serve as the selection pool for the management of the organization. * This department takes care of determining the requirements of companies in personnel planning and job analysis. * This department is also the link between the management and the employees. It should be the neutral ground for both. * Takes care of social and legal obligations for the workforce group composition. * Implements the recruitment techniques that would bring in the manpower to the organization. This includes developing new ways to keep up with the recruitment trends.
With these many uses for the recruitment group, some geniuses have come up with the idea of recruiting back office software which facilitates these very functions. The back office is an important part for each company as this is where the tasks that run the company are taking place each day.
For instance, the highly important back offices are the IT, accounting and operations departments; and, of course, the human resources (which includes the recruitment group) department. For sales firms, the most important back office is the operations floor; for the banking industry, it is the IT department which takes care of clearances and settlements.
Since back offices are key positions to many industries, hiring the right people for these jobs would be very important. The exact same people that would hire the back office personnel should have to be equally knowledgeable. Human handling could result into an error here so the use of staffing back office software would be a better option.
Think of it this way: it takes hours upon hours (if not days) of work to come up with just a few people that would qualify for the final interview. Using automated tools would make this job easier and less prone to errors. This also erases the idea of employing more recruitment personnel or looking for an outside staffing agency that would help in bringing in the needed number of applicants each day. Recruiting and staffing firms do cater to all types of employment needs across numerous industries yet they also cost more.
So, businesses and other trades should think of automating their recruitment services--the rewards far outweigh the disadvantages. Besides, if they want to get the best people for their company, they should depend on the tools that would be able to deliver just that.
* Being able to encourage candidates to apply for a certain vacancy in an organization. * Being able to create a pool of candidates that would serve as the selection pool for the management of the organization. * This department takes care of determining the requirements of companies in personnel planning and job analysis. * This department is also the link between the management and the employees. It should be the neutral ground for both. * Takes care of social and legal obligations for the workforce group composition. * Implements the recruitment techniques that would bring in the manpower to the organization. This includes developing new ways to keep up with the recruitment trends.
With these many uses for the recruitment group, some geniuses have come up with the idea of recruiting back office software which facilitates these very functions. The back office is an important part for each company as this is where the tasks that run the company are taking place each day.
For instance, the highly important back offices are the IT, accounting and operations departments; and, of course, the human resources (which includes the recruitment group) department. For sales firms, the most important back office is the operations floor; for the banking industry, it is the IT department which takes care of clearances and settlements.
Since back offices are key positions to many industries, hiring the right people for these jobs would be very important. The exact same people that would hire the back office personnel should have to be equally knowledgeable. Human handling could result into an error here so the use of staffing back office software would be a better option.
Think of it this way: it takes hours upon hours (if not days) of work to come up with just a few people that would qualify for the final interview. Using automated tools would make this job easier and less prone to errors. This also erases the idea of employing more recruitment personnel or looking for an outside staffing agency that would help in bringing in the needed number of applicants each day. Recruiting and staffing firms do cater to all types of employment needs across numerous industries yet they also cost more.
So, businesses and other trades should think of automating their recruitment services--the rewards far outweigh the disadvantages. Besides, if they want to get the best people for their company, they should depend on the tools that would be able to deliver just that.
Accessories keep your laptop in style by Sandy Cosser
“When a person is in fashion, all they do is right.” Lord Chesterfield
Fashion and style play a large role in our lives, whether we subscribe to the latest trends or not. We’re either desperately trying to stay in fashion, ignore fashion or keep an eye on who is setting fashion trends. Someone once said that fashions come and go, but style lasts forever. What once applied only to clothes and décor can now be said to apply to gadgets, as people try to funk-up the appearance of their laptops and iPods.
Laptop users no longer have to settle for factory slate-grey or charcoal; with laptop accessories they can chop and change the external appearance of their notebooks as quickly and easily as some people change their socks. Many laptop accessories stockists carry a wide variety of skins that can give notebooks an instant facelift. Skin styles range from classic elegance to hippy chic, quirky and the outright bizarre. You can decorate your notebook with peaceful underwater scenes, floral patterns and vibrant colours. Or you can give your laptop a holiday feel with themed skins, for instance summer holiday beach scenes, Christmas trees, Easter bunnies and sundry eggs, and even skulls and crossbones for Halloween.
On another aesthetic note, laptop screens are fairly big news these days, especially LCD screens. If you want to keep your notebook in tip-top style, you really need one of these babies. LCD screens are available in a range of sizes, so you can be sure to find one that fits your notebook, as well as your pocket.
It’s not enough to look good; you also have to take proper care of what you’ve got. Laptop protection comes in many guises, starting with keyboard and screen protection. Keyboard protectors are placed between the screen and keyboard on closing the laptop, and are designed to protect both upper and lower layers from any scratches that might occur during transport. Many keyboard protectors double as screen cleaners, and are ideal for getting rid of fingerprint smudges and errant bits of fluff.
As for actual notebooks, protection can be found in a variety of sleeves, briefcases, backpacks, satchels and duffel bags.
Sleeves are probably the most basic and light-weight protective carry bags that you can get. They aren’t that big,; usually only large enough to carry the laptop itself and maybe some additional documents. They’re generally well cushioned to protect machines against the gamut of bumps and knocks experienced during transport.
Briefcases, satchels and backpacks are somewhat larger and are designed to carry laptops, documents, files, keys, sunglasses, a packed lunch and anything else you would expect to need on a day out of your office or home. Styles range from large hold-alls to light-weight bags for when you don’t need the kitchen sink. They are also cushioned to protect notebooks while you’re out and about.
For occasions when you need to carry more than your laptop and a few files, such as when you’re headed to the gym after work, or need to go away for the weekend but don’t want to be laden with assorted bags, then duffel bags do the trick. They are perfect for carrying a couple of changes of clothes, toiletries, your laptop and anything else you might need on an extended trip. You can even get bags that come on wheels so that you don’t have to carry your baggage everywhere, but can roll it along at your convenience.
With so many options to kit your laptop out in style, you no longer have an excuse for your laptop being tired, boring and limited in appearance. And remember:
“Style is a simple way of saying complicated things.” Jean Cocteau
Recommended sites:
http://www.mensflair.com/quotes-2/
http://en.proverbia.net/citastema.asp?tematica=1171
About the Author
Sandra wrote this article for the online marketers My New Laptop laptops, notebooks and accessories a leading supplier of laptops, notebooks and accessories at prices to suit any budget.
Fashion and style play a large role in our lives, whether we subscribe to the latest trends or not. We’re either desperately trying to stay in fashion, ignore fashion or keep an eye on who is setting fashion trends. Someone once said that fashions come and go, but style lasts forever. What once applied only to clothes and décor can now be said to apply to gadgets, as people try to funk-up the appearance of their laptops and iPods.
Laptop users no longer have to settle for factory slate-grey or charcoal; with laptop accessories they can chop and change the external appearance of their notebooks as quickly and easily as some people change their socks. Many laptop accessories stockists carry a wide variety of skins that can give notebooks an instant facelift. Skin styles range from classic elegance to hippy chic, quirky and the outright bizarre. You can decorate your notebook with peaceful underwater scenes, floral patterns and vibrant colours. Or you can give your laptop a holiday feel with themed skins, for instance summer holiday beach scenes, Christmas trees, Easter bunnies and sundry eggs, and even skulls and crossbones for Halloween.
On another aesthetic note, laptop screens are fairly big news these days, especially LCD screens. If you want to keep your notebook in tip-top style, you really need one of these babies. LCD screens are available in a range of sizes, so you can be sure to find one that fits your notebook, as well as your pocket.
It’s not enough to look good; you also have to take proper care of what you’ve got. Laptop protection comes in many guises, starting with keyboard and screen protection. Keyboard protectors are placed between the screen and keyboard on closing the laptop, and are designed to protect both upper and lower layers from any scratches that might occur during transport. Many keyboard protectors double as screen cleaners, and are ideal for getting rid of fingerprint smudges and errant bits of fluff.
As for actual notebooks, protection can be found in a variety of sleeves, briefcases, backpacks, satchels and duffel bags.
Sleeves are probably the most basic and light-weight protective carry bags that you can get. They aren’t that big,; usually only large enough to carry the laptop itself and maybe some additional documents. They’re generally well cushioned to protect machines against the gamut of bumps and knocks experienced during transport.
Briefcases, satchels and backpacks are somewhat larger and are designed to carry laptops, documents, files, keys, sunglasses, a packed lunch and anything else you would expect to need on a day out of your office or home. Styles range from large hold-alls to light-weight bags for when you don’t need the kitchen sink. They are also cushioned to protect notebooks while you’re out and about.
For occasions when you need to carry more than your laptop and a few files, such as when you’re headed to the gym after work, or need to go away for the weekend but don’t want to be laden with assorted bags, then duffel bags do the trick. They are perfect for carrying a couple of changes of clothes, toiletries, your laptop and anything else you might need on an extended trip. You can even get bags that come on wheels so that you don’t have to carry your baggage everywhere, but can roll it along at your convenience.
With so many options to kit your laptop out in style, you no longer have an excuse for your laptop being tired, boring and limited in appearance. And remember:
“Style is a simple way of saying complicated things.” Jean Cocteau
Recommended sites:
http://www.mensflair.com/quotes-2/
http://en.proverbia.net/citastema.asp?tematica=1171
About the Author
Sandra wrote this article for the online marketers My New Laptop laptops, notebooks and accessories a leading supplier of laptops, notebooks and accessories at prices to suit any budget.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Computer Terminology - I Don't Understand It By Richard Blackmon
Computer Terminology Is An Alien Language
I have been working in and on computers for over 50 years, and yes, I am a Geek. When I lapse into computer terminology, my wife's eyes glaze over, and I hear "borrrrrrrrrrrring" from her. Suspecting she is not the only person that is illiterate when it comes to computers, I have developed a simple terminology to use when speaking to a non-geek.
First, an analogy: A computer is made of many components. They fall into 3 groups:
Memory or RAM:
Memory or RAM is your work bench. It is where the work gets done. The more memory you have, the more things you can do at the same time. Ram is measured in mega (mega= million) bytes.
CPU or Processor
Your CPU or Processor is your motor. The more powerful your motor, the faster you can get things done. Processor speed is measured in GHZ or giga (Giga= A million million) hertz.
Hard Drive
The Hard Drive is your file cabinet, the more data you can save for future use. Hard Drive space is measured in mb or mega (millions of) bytes.
See? Nothing mystical about those terms is there?
Now on to the Definitions.
Definitions
Adware Those unwanted ads that appear on your browser.
Bit A Single piece of data.
Byte A block of bits, usually 8 bits. An example of a byte would be a single letter as "A".
Browser The software that helps find what you are looking when you surf the internet.
Computer A high speed moron. It does exactly what it is told. This is not necessarily what you want it to do.
CPU Central Processing Unit. This is the heart, engine, motor of your computer.
DVD+R A format used to burn a DVD. Usually not compatible with a DVD-R drive.
DVD-R A format used to burn a DVD. Usually not compatible with a DVD+R drive.
Firewall A vital device that can be either software or hardware that hides your computer from the outside world. Windows has a built in firewall.
Firewire A type of connection to a computer. Used for connecting a device such as a camcorder to a PC. It is also known as IEEE1394. Sony calls their version "I-link".
Floppy disk A type of storage media. Floppies are no longer popular due to the limited capacity and slow speed.
Gamer A person that uses a PC primarily for playing video games. It requires a fast PC and a high level graphics card.
GHZ Giga hertz. Abbreviated as ghz. This is the speed of a processor. A hertz is a cycle.
Gigabyte A billion (thousand million) bytes of data.
Graphics Processor The component that processes and sends images to the monitor. Many demanding programs use the graphics processor as an additional processor to help the main CPU.
Hard Drive A storage unit. The hard drive is where data or applications are stored until needed again. It has non destructive readout meaning reading it does not destroy the data as in RAM.
Hi-Def High Definition as in TV. It is a very high resolution device and requires a lot of storage space.
IEEE1394 A type of connection to a computer. It is usually used by digital camcorders or external hard drives. Also known as "Firewire".
Internet The internet is a superhighway with information at waypoints scattered everywhere. In order to find where you are going, you need a browser, a url or a search engine such as Google or Yahoo.
LAN Local area network. The connection of several PCs together. They can also share an internet connection. An example of a LAN would be the 3 PCs in my house connected together. Data can be shared between the PCs.
Megabyte A million bytes of data.
Memory Also known as RAM. It is where data and programs are kept whle working or being worked upon. It is a destructive readout deivce, meaning that if you want to keep it, you must restore it. This is a concern only for programmers not users.
OS OS stands for operating system. Windows and Linux are examples of operating systems.
Processor The unit that does the work in a computer. Also known as CPU.
RAM Ram stands for random access memory. Random because you can pull data from any address, not wait flr sequential as in a hard drive.
Ram Drive A very fast retrieval device for storage. It uses memory as its media, where as a disk uses a metallic storage.
Router A device for connecting to the network. It allows several PCs to share a single network connection.
Scanner A peripheral device for reading a document, converting to a digital data stream and sending it to the computer.
Software A compilation of instructions to the processor telling it what to do in order to complete its taks. Remember, the high speed moron does only what it is told.
Spyware A snippet of instructions that is stored on your hardware without your knowledge. It then reports back to its originator what you are doing. Anti-spyware software can prevent this.
Switch A device used in a network. It usually has a router integrated into it. It also is an excellent firewall.
Terabyte Terabyte is a million million. That is a "1" followed by 12 "0"s.
Trojan Horse A snippet of software (usually malicious) that gets into your computer as a part of a legitimate message, such as email. Once activated, it can wreak havoc, even ruining a hard drive. Most anti-virus software also blocks trojans.
USB Universal Serial Bus (USB) is a type of connection to your PC. It is used to connect devices to your PC.
Virus A virus is a piece of malicious that enters your computer, usually against your knowledge that can corrupt your hard drive and thus your data.
Virus Checker Software that blocks viruses from entering your PC. Also known as anti-virus software.
Vista Vista is the latest operating system (OS) from Microsoft.
WAN Wide area network. Usually a connection of systems in several locations off the main premise or campus. For example, if you work at a company that has several locations in various cities that are connected via high speed lines, this is a WAN.
Web cam A small camera that is connected to your PC via USB or firewire can record what is going on within its view and send to your PC. From there, you can allow relatives in another location to view what is going on at your home.
Wireless In computerese, a method of connecting several PC's together. Each computer would require a wireless adapter. Routers and switches can offer a wireless connections. This eliminates the need to run cables between the various units.
Worm A snippet of programming language that is covertly slipped into your computer. When activated, it can corrupt your files, take over your browser, etc. Generally, anti virus software blocks worms.
WYSIWYG What you see is what you get. In other words, this is how your output will look.
XP Microsoft Windows operating system. XP is the predecessor to Vista.
computersprintersandmonitors.com is my computer website. Visit it for other articles on computers.
My name is Rick and I call myself The Elderly Geek. Elderly, because I am 74 years old. Geek, because I have worked with or on computers since July 15, 1957. I retired from IBM and one of my passions is computers. I really enjoy helping people with their computer problems. I have always been tech support for my family. Another is playing with video. I have just begun to become interested in internet marketing. My PC desktop is so crowded with icons, it amazes my family that I can find anything.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Richard_Blackmon
I have been working in and on computers for over 50 years, and yes, I am a Geek. When I lapse into computer terminology, my wife's eyes glaze over, and I hear "borrrrrrrrrrrring" from her. Suspecting she is not the only person that is illiterate when it comes to computers, I have developed a simple terminology to use when speaking to a non-geek.
First, an analogy: A computer is made of many components. They fall into 3 groups:
Memory or RAM:
Memory or RAM is your work bench. It is where the work gets done. The more memory you have, the more things you can do at the same time. Ram is measured in mega (mega= million) bytes.
CPU or Processor
Your CPU or Processor is your motor. The more powerful your motor, the faster you can get things done. Processor speed is measured in GHZ or giga (Giga= A million million) hertz.
Hard Drive
The Hard Drive is your file cabinet, the more data you can save for future use. Hard Drive space is measured in mb or mega (millions of) bytes.
See? Nothing mystical about those terms is there?
Now on to the Definitions.
Definitions
Adware Those unwanted ads that appear on your browser.
Bit A Single piece of data.
Byte A block of bits, usually 8 bits. An example of a byte would be a single letter as "A".
Browser The software that helps find what you are looking when you surf the internet.
Computer A high speed moron. It does exactly what it is told. This is not necessarily what you want it to do.
CPU Central Processing Unit. This is the heart, engine, motor of your computer.
DVD+R A format used to burn a DVD. Usually not compatible with a DVD-R drive.
DVD-R A format used to burn a DVD. Usually not compatible with a DVD+R drive.
Firewall A vital device that can be either software or hardware that hides your computer from the outside world. Windows has a built in firewall.
Firewire A type of connection to a computer. Used for connecting a device such as a camcorder to a PC. It is also known as IEEE1394. Sony calls their version "I-link".
Floppy disk A type of storage media. Floppies are no longer popular due to the limited capacity and slow speed.
Gamer A person that uses a PC primarily for playing video games. It requires a fast PC and a high level graphics card.
GHZ Giga hertz. Abbreviated as ghz. This is the speed of a processor. A hertz is a cycle.
Gigabyte A billion (thousand million) bytes of data.
Graphics Processor The component that processes and sends images to the monitor. Many demanding programs use the graphics processor as an additional processor to help the main CPU.
Hard Drive A storage unit. The hard drive is where data or applications are stored until needed again. It has non destructive readout meaning reading it does not destroy the data as in RAM.
Hi-Def High Definition as in TV. It is a very high resolution device and requires a lot of storage space.
IEEE1394 A type of connection to a computer. It is usually used by digital camcorders or external hard drives. Also known as "Firewire".
Internet The internet is a superhighway with information at waypoints scattered everywhere. In order to find where you are going, you need a browser, a url or a search engine such as Google or Yahoo.
LAN Local area network. The connection of several PCs together. They can also share an internet connection. An example of a LAN would be the 3 PCs in my house connected together. Data can be shared between the PCs.
Megabyte A million bytes of data.
Memory Also known as RAM. It is where data and programs are kept whle working or being worked upon. It is a destructive readout deivce, meaning that if you want to keep it, you must restore it. This is a concern only for programmers not users.
OS OS stands for operating system. Windows and Linux are examples of operating systems.
Processor The unit that does the work in a computer. Also known as CPU.
RAM Ram stands for random access memory. Random because you can pull data from any address, not wait flr sequential as in a hard drive.
Ram Drive A very fast retrieval device for storage. It uses memory as its media, where as a disk uses a metallic storage.
Router A device for connecting to the network. It allows several PCs to share a single network connection.
Scanner A peripheral device for reading a document, converting to a digital data stream and sending it to the computer.
Software A compilation of instructions to the processor telling it what to do in order to complete its taks. Remember, the high speed moron does only what it is told.
Spyware A snippet of instructions that is stored on your hardware without your knowledge. It then reports back to its originator what you are doing. Anti-spyware software can prevent this.
Switch A device used in a network. It usually has a router integrated into it. It also is an excellent firewall.
Terabyte Terabyte is a million million. That is a "1" followed by 12 "0"s.
Trojan Horse A snippet of software (usually malicious) that gets into your computer as a part of a legitimate message, such as email. Once activated, it can wreak havoc, even ruining a hard drive. Most anti-virus software also blocks trojans.
USB Universal Serial Bus (USB) is a type of connection to your PC. It is used to connect devices to your PC.
Virus A virus is a piece of malicious that enters your computer, usually against your knowledge that can corrupt your hard drive and thus your data.
Virus Checker Software that blocks viruses from entering your PC. Also known as anti-virus software.
Vista Vista is the latest operating system (OS) from Microsoft.
WAN Wide area network. Usually a connection of systems in several locations off the main premise or campus. For example, if you work at a company that has several locations in various cities that are connected via high speed lines, this is a WAN.
Web cam A small camera that is connected to your PC via USB or firewire can record what is going on within its view and send to your PC. From there, you can allow relatives in another location to view what is going on at your home.
Wireless In computerese, a method of connecting several PC's together. Each computer would require a wireless adapter. Routers and switches can offer a wireless connections. This eliminates the need to run cables between the various units.
Worm A snippet of programming language that is covertly slipped into your computer. When activated, it can corrupt your files, take over your browser, etc. Generally, anti virus software blocks worms.
WYSIWYG What you see is what you get. In other words, this is how your output will look.
XP Microsoft Windows operating system. XP is the predecessor to Vista.
computersprintersandmonitors.com is my computer website. Visit it for other articles on computers.
My name is Rick and I call myself The Elderly Geek. Elderly, because I am 74 years old. Geek, because I have worked with or on computers since July 15, 1957. I retired from IBM and one of my passions is computers. I really enjoy helping people with their computer problems. I have always been tech support for my family. Another is playing with video. I have just begun to become interested in internet marketing. My PC desktop is so crowded with icons, it amazes my family that I can find anything.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Richard_Blackmon
Computer Problem Tips - Can't Get on the Internet? Your ZoneAlarm Firewall May Be the Cause by Chancer Reese
I started getting the emails and calls from friends and clients last week. "Yipes, I can't get on the Internet! I have wasted all day (night) trying but nothing works. What's the problem?"
To be honest I didn't have a clue myself, until one friend called and said that of her 3 computers that had web access (all have ZoneAlarm installed) the one that missing a Windows update still worked. After some research we confirmed that the newest Windows update had "broken" the current version of ZoneAlarm. ZoneAlarm Free (ZA) is arguably one of the most downloaded personal firewall programs on the planet. I use it and personally recommend it to just about everyone I know. So this "glitch" was a huge pain in the tuckus.
Later in the week, the boys at ZoneLabs (the makers of ZA) released a press statement, detailing their workarounds. Seems the update killed all of ZoneLabs product line from their ever popular firewall to their premium security suite.
The press release states, "Microsoft Update KB951748 is known to cause sudden loss of internet access for ZoneAlarm users on Windows XP/2000. Windows Vista users are not affected. Platforms Affected: ZoneAlarm Free, ZoneAlarm Pro, ZoneAlarm AntiVirus, ZoneAlarm Anti-Spyware, and ZoneAlarm Security Suite".
What you need to do now...
As a temporary workaround:
1. Double-click on the "Z" ZoneAlarm icon in the lower right of your screen.
2. After the program opens, click "Firewall" on the menu bar on the left side.
3. You should see the "Internet Zone Security" section. Move the slider from "High" to "Med." (medium)
4.Click on the "X" in the upper right corner to minimize ZoneAlarm.
This will work until you get the time to download and install the newest version of your ZoneAlarm product.
Now when you install the new update make sure you check "Upgrade" not "Clean Install" or you will have to go through the slow process of ZoneAlarm "learning" which programs to let through all over again.
So how did this happen? Is ZoneLabs going belly up? Nah...what went on behind the scenes is that several months ago a computer security researcher accidentally discovered a major, major error in the actual structure of the Internet. Seems he found a way that someone could trick every computer into going to a bogus website, even if you go to a browser and type in the "correct" URL or web address.
This meant that if you opened your web browser and typed in "www.eBay.com", your computer and everyone else's could have been redirected to a fake eBay site.
That's right ALL the computers in the world! Ain't that a kick in the teeth? So the top über-geeks in the world have been working in secret to correct the problem. Most of the major players were involved and released updates this month.
If by chance, you have not installed the latest operating system update, you should. Because now that the "cat is out of the bag" there is no doubt some enterprising young hacker will try and make use this "flaw in the fabric of the web" to lead you to a fake and dangerous website.
Tired of losing money on unnecessary downtime and want to reduce your computer headaches? Click here http://www.fixcomputerproblemsguide.com for free tips. Sick of a S-L-O-W computer? Click here to Blast Spyware Away! From Chancer Reese, your Small Office Tech Diva.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Chancer_Reese
To be honest I didn't have a clue myself, until one friend called and said that of her 3 computers that had web access (all have ZoneAlarm installed) the one that missing a Windows update still worked. After some research we confirmed that the newest Windows update had "broken" the current version of ZoneAlarm. ZoneAlarm Free (ZA) is arguably one of the most downloaded personal firewall programs on the planet. I use it and personally recommend it to just about everyone I know. So this "glitch" was a huge pain in the tuckus.
Later in the week, the boys at ZoneLabs (the makers of ZA) released a press statement, detailing their workarounds. Seems the update killed all of ZoneLabs product line from their ever popular firewall to their premium security suite.
The press release states, "Microsoft Update KB951748 is known to cause sudden loss of internet access for ZoneAlarm users on Windows XP/2000. Windows Vista users are not affected. Platforms Affected: ZoneAlarm Free, ZoneAlarm Pro, ZoneAlarm AntiVirus, ZoneAlarm Anti-Spyware, and ZoneAlarm Security Suite".
What you need to do now...
As a temporary workaround:
1. Double-click on the "Z" ZoneAlarm icon in the lower right of your screen.
2. After the program opens, click "Firewall" on the menu bar on the left side.
3. You should see the "Internet Zone Security" section. Move the slider from "High" to "Med." (medium)
4.Click on the "X" in the upper right corner to minimize ZoneAlarm.
This will work until you get the time to download and install the newest version of your ZoneAlarm product.
Now when you install the new update make sure you check "Upgrade" not "Clean Install" or you will have to go through the slow process of ZoneAlarm "learning" which programs to let through all over again.
So how did this happen? Is ZoneLabs going belly up? Nah...what went on behind the scenes is that several months ago a computer security researcher accidentally discovered a major, major error in the actual structure of the Internet. Seems he found a way that someone could trick every computer into going to a bogus website, even if you go to a browser and type in the "correct" URL or web address.
This meant that if you opened your web browser and typed in "www.eBay.com", your computer and everyone else's could have been redirected to a fake eBay site.
That's right ALL the computers in the world! Ain't that a kick in the teeth? So the top über-geeks in the world have been working in secret to correct the problem. Most of the major players were involved and released updates this month.
If by chance, you have not installed the latest operating system update, you should. Because now that the "cat is out of the bag" there is no doubt some enterprising young hacker will try and make use this "flaw in the fabric of the web" to lead you to a fake and dangerous website.
Tired of losing money on unnecessary downtime and want to reduce your computer headaches? Click here http://www.fixcomputerproblemsguide.com for free tips. Sick of a S-L-O-W computer? Click here to Blast Spyware Away! From Chancer Reese, your Small Office Tech Diva.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Chancer_Reese
Artistic Computer Graphics - Seven Advantages of Computer Generated Art by Dr. Bruce Gooch
The early adoption and subsequent interest in photorealistic rendering
by the graphics community is most likely due to the "mission
statement'' of photorealistic rendering: "Create an image that is
indistinguishable from a photograph." This mission statement gives
photorealistic rendering a visual "Turing test", and an easily
defined metric for a successful image. Artistic computer graphics does not have a single
mission statement. Instead, researchers are pursuing a number of image
creation goals. The goals of Artistic computer graphics include simulating traditional
artistic media, understanding the human visual system, communicating
effectively with low bandwidth, abstracting images, enhancing
learning, and improving user interaction.
The control of detail in an image for purposes of communication is
becoming the hallmark of artistic computer graphics. Often this control of image
detail is combined with stylization to evoke the perception of
complexity in an image without an explicit representation. Artistic images
also provide a more natural vehicle for conveying information at
different levels of abstraction and detail. Seven occasions
when an artistic computer generated image has an advantage are listed below.
1. Image Reproducibility: In a technical journal printed in black
and white, fully shaded three-dimensional geometry may not print
well. For example, photographic images do not copy or fax as well as
line art images.
2. Medical Visualization: Researchers are focusing on providing
artistic algorithms, which can be manipulated interactively, for real time
visualizations of volume data. A good example is the visualization of
electric fields inside the human body.
3. Communication of Abstract Ideas: The human visual system
expects realistically rendered characters to behave
realistically. Therefore, nonphotorealistic animation can be used to
express ideas beyond the physical and logical norm, in a way that is
acceptable to a general audience. An example of this is force diagrams
used in physics textbooks.
4. Evoking the Imagination: Simple line drawings can communicate
abstract ideas in ways that a photograph cannot. In a photorealistic
image, everything in the scene is rendered in fine detail, leaving
little to the imagination. In comparison, by not depicting every
detail, a nonphotorealistic image allows the viewer to share in the
interpretive process.
5. Animation: When creating an animation it is necessary to focus
the attention of the audience on the relevant actions and elements in
the scene. A viewer inspecting the fine details of a photorealistic
scene can miss the big picture. Most nonphotorealistic techniques
employ an economy of line, limiting the detail in a scene, which makes
directing the attention of the viewers easier for an animator.
6. Compression: By not depicting all the detail required for
photorealistic images, nonphotorealistically rendered computer
graphics images typically take less time to create, can be rendered to
the screen faster, and use less storage space. For example, half-tone
images yield the same shape from shading cues as traditionally
rendered computer graphics images when viewed from a
distance. However, the half-tone images require between one tenth and
one one-hundredth of the storage
space.
7. Communication of Design or Process Completeness:
Photorealistic rendering implies an exactness and perfection that may
overstate the fidelity of the simulated scene to a photograph. Artistic computer graphics
can aid a viewer in understanding that the image they see is only an
approximate depiction of a scene. An excellent example of this
phenomena is architectural rendering. Architects have found that
on-site building conditions and variations in regional building codes
can lead to last minute changes in building plans. If clients are
shown realistic images of the proposed building these last minute
changes can come as a shock, leading to angry, disappointed clients.
However, if the clients are shown nonphotorealistic images of the
proposed building clients tend to accept the design process as
incomplete and the plans as changeable. Therefore, the clients usually
accept on-site changes.
Author Info:
Dr. Bruce Gooch is the President of Toon-FX, a software company whose products allow users to automatically create cartoon representations of their digital photographs and video. Visit http://www.Toon-FX.com to learn more.
Terms:
Articles may be reprinted provided content is not edited and links are kept live
Source: Article Depot - Search Free Articles
by the graphics community is most likely due to the "mission
statement'' of photorealistic rendering: "Create an image that is
indistinguishable from a photograph." This mission statement gives
photorealistic rendering a visual "Turing test", and an easily
defined metric for a successful image. Artistic computer graphics does not have a single
mission statement. Instead, researchers are pursuing a number of image
creation goals. The goals of Artistic computer graphics include simulating traditional
artistic media, understanding the human visual system, communicating
effectively with low bandwidth, abstracting images, enhancing
learning, and improving user interaction.
The control of detail in an image for purposes of communication is
becoming the hallmark of artistic computer graphics. Often this control of image
detail is combined with stylization to evoke the perception of
complexity in an image without an explicit representation. Artistic images
also provide a more natural vehicle for conveying information at
different levels of abstraction and detail. Seven occasions
when an artistic computer generated image has an advantage are listed below.
1. Image Reproducibility: In a technical journal printed in black
and white, fully shaded three-dimensional geometry may not print
well. For example, photographic images do not copy or fax as well as
line art images.
2. Medical Visualization: Researchers are focusing on providing
artistic algorithms, which can be manipulated interactively, for real time
visualizations of volume data. A good example is the visualization of
electric fields inside the human body.
3. Communication of Abstract Ideas: The human visual system
expects realistically rendered characters to behave
realistically. Therefore, nonphotorealistic animation can be used to
express ideas beyond the physical and logical norm, in a way that is
acceptable to a general audience. An example of this is force diagrams
used in physics textbooks.
4. Evoking the Imagination: Simple line drawings can communicate
abstract ideas in ways that a photograph cannot. In a photorealistic
image, everything in the scene is rendered in fine detail, leaving
little to the imagination. In comparison, by not depicting every
detail, a nonphotorealistic image allows the viewer to share in the
interpretive process.
5. Animation: When creating an animation it is necessary to focus
the attention of the audience on the relevant actions and elements in
the scene. A viewer inspecting the fine details of a photorealistic
scene can miss the big picture. Most nonphotorealistic techniques
employ an economy of line, limiting the detail in a scene, which makes
directing the attention of the viewers easier for an animator.
6. Compression: By not depicting all the detail required for
photorealistic images, nonphotorealistically rendered computer
graphics images typically take less time to create, can be rendered to
the screen faster, and use less storage space. For example, half-tone
images yield the same shape from shading cues as traditionally
rendered computer graphics images when viewed from a
distance. However, the half-tone images require between one tenth and
one one-hundredth of the storage
space.
7. Communication of Design or Process Completeness:
Photorealistic rendering implies an exactness and perfection that may
overstate the fidelity of the simulated scene to a photograph. Artistic computer graphics
can aid a viewer in understanding that the image they see is only an
approximate depiction of a scene. An excellent example of this
phenomena is architectural rendering. Architects have found that
on-site building conditions and variations in regional building codes
can lead to last minute changes in building plans. If clients are
shown realistic images of the proposed building these last minute
changes can come as a shock, leading to angry, disappointed clients.
However, if the clients are shown nonphotorealistic images of the
proposed building clients tend to accept the design process as
incomplete and the plans as changeable. Therefore, the clients usually
accept on-site changes.
Author Info:
Dr. Bruce Gooch is the President of Toon-FX, a software company whose products allow users to automatically create cartoon representations of their digital photographs and video. Visit http://www.Toon-FX.com to learn more.
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Bring your computer to its full potential with these easy steps! by Sean Carrol
Ok, so your computer has been running at less than optimal performance for the past few months and you have no idea where to start. You could pay a technician upwards of $200 to come take a look, fiddle with a few things, and not really make any difference OR you could read my article which is free, will take 20 minutes of your time, and have drastically increase the performance of your system. So here goes...
The first thing
When your computer starts there are programs that automatically start. Some of these are necessary for Windows to run, but a lot are not. Most of these programs lurk in the background eating away at your system resources and noticeably slowing your computer down. Lucky for you you can have full control over what starts up when your computer starts. First off, to take a look at the programs that start when your computer boots follow the steps below:
1. Open your Start menu and click on Run.
2. Type in msconfig and click Open
The Microsoft System Configuration utlity opens. Most of the options in here we will have absoltuely no use for at this time. On the main page, in about the middle you'll see an option for Selective Startup, click on it and then click the Startup tab.
In this window we will see a full listing of all programs that start when the computer boots. Like I said before most of these are unnecessary so we can remove a lot of them.
We have to look each item up individually to see if it is necessary for the computer to run. Once we decide it is uneccessary we can simply uncheck it. To help us determine if it is necessary or not there is an online list here to tell us what the program is and whether or not we need it. If you don't need it, just uncheck it. Go through the whole list removing items until you finish. Click the Apply button and then click OK.
Once we have that done it will prompt you as to whether or not you want to restart. Restart your computer and you will notice a huge difference even in the loading time.
Seconds
The second thing you probably want to if you are experiencing a slow computer is to free up some hard drive space. Windows sets aside a portion of your harddrive to be used a RAM and depending on how quickly it can access this can affect the speed of your computer. To free up some harddrive space we are going to use two fairly simple tools.
The first is Add Or Remove Programs. This is a centralized location where Windows lets you remove applications from your system. To access Add or Remove Programs click Start , Control Panel, Add or Remove Programs.
Take a look through the list, select any programs you do not recognize or need, highlight them and click the Change/Remove button on the right-hand side. After you click Change/Remove, it will prompt you to remove the application, follow the wizard through the steps of removing it.
Disk Cleanup is another neat little tool to help you free up some harddrive space. It will take a look at your system and let you know how much space Windows has calculated it can get rid of. Typically, it will delete your Recycle Bin, Temporary Files, log files, and a few other areas not deemed as particularly important.
To open and use Disk Cleanup follow the steps listed below:
1. Click Start -> All Programs -> Accessories -> System Tools -> Disk Cleanup
2. It will calculate how much space it is able to free up when it opens. It will then open a window showing where these files will be deleted from. Select All of the checkboxes in this window and click OK.
3. Now it will go through and delete all of the unnecessary data from your harddrive.
Third
Now that we've managed to free up some space on your hard drive we are now going to use to Disk Defragmenter to clean it up a bit. Defragmenting your hard drive puts the data in a more sequential order on the disk so it is quicker and easier to access it. The tool is also fairly simple to run. Follow the steps below to defragment your harddrive:
1. Start -> All Programs -> Accessories -> System Tools -> Disk Defragmenter
2. When it opens, press the Defragment button and off you go!
Defragmenting your hard drive can take upwards of 5 hours so it is usually best to run it before bed or at a time when is using the computer for a few hours. This is part one of this article. Part two will be up this evening and cover cleaning your registry, removing spyware, and optimizing internet surfing. Thanks for reading and stay tuned!
Author Info:
Sean Carroll Tech Goldmine Blog Your #1 Source for Technology news and tips! http://www.techgoldmine.com/
Terms:
Articles may be reprinted provided content is not edited and links are kept live
Source: Article Depot - Search Free Articles
The first thing
When your computer starts there are programs that automatically start. Some of these are necessary for Windows to run, but a lot are not. Most of these programs lurk in the background eating away at your system resources and noticeably slowing your computer down. Lucky for you you can have full control over what starts up when your computer starts. First off, to take a look at the programs that start when your computer boots follow the steps below:
1. Open your Start menu and click on Run.
2. Type in msconfig and click Open
The Microsoft System Configuration utlity opens. Most of the options in here we will have absoltuely no use for at this time. On the main page, in about the middle you'll see an option for Selective Startup, click on it and then click the Startup tab.
In this window we will see a full listing of all programs that start when the computer boots. Like I said before most of these are unnecessary so we can remove a lot of them.
We have to look each item up individually to see if it is necessary for the computer to run. Once we decide it is uneccessary we can simply uncheck it. To help us determine if it is necessary or not there is an online list here to tell us what the program is and whether or not we need it. If you don't need it, just uncheck it. Go through the whole list removing items until you finish. Click the Apply button and then click OK.
Once we have that done it will prompt you as to whether or not you want to restart. Restart your computer and you will notice a huge difference even in the loading time.
Seconds
The second thing you probably want to if you are experiencing a slow computer is to free up some hard drive space. Windows sets aside a portion of your harddrive to be used a RAM and depending on how quickly it can access this can affect the speed of your computer. To free up some harddrive space we are going to use two fairly simple tools.
The first is Add Or Remove Programs. This is a centralized location where Windows lets you remove applications from your system. To access Add or Remove Programs click Start , Control Panel, Add or Remove Programs.
Take a look through the list, select any programs you do not recognize or need, highlight them and click the Change/Remove button on the right-hand side. After you click Change/Remove, it will prompt you to remove the application, follow the wizard through the steps of removing it.
Disk Cleanup is another neat little tool to help you free up some harddrive space. It will take a look at your system and let you know how much space Windows has calculated it can get rid of. Typically, it will delete your Recycle Bin, Temporary Files, log files, and a few other areas not deemed as particularly important.
To open and use Disk Cleanup follow the steps listed below:
1. Click Start -> All Programs -> Accessories -> System Tools -> Disk Cleanup
2. It will calculate how much space it is able to free up when it opens. It will then open a window showing where these files will be deleted from. Select All of the checkboxes in this window and click OK.
3. Now it will go through and delete all of the unnecessary data from your harddrive.
Third
Now that we've managed to free up some space on your hard drive we are now going to use to Disk Defragmenter to clean it up a bit. Defragmenting your hard drive puts the data in a more sequential order on the disk so it is quicker and easier to access it. The tool is also fairly simple to run. Follow the steps below to defragment your harddrive:
1. Start -> All Programs -> Accessories -> System Tools -> Disk Defragmenter
2. When it opens, press the Defragment button and off you go!
Defragmenting your hard drive can take upwards of 5 hours so it is usually best to run it before bed or at a time when is using the computer for a few hours. This is part one of this article. Part two will be up this evening and cover cleaning your registry, removing spyware, and optimizing internet surfing. Thanks for reading and stay tuned!
Author Info:
Sean Carroll Tech Goldmine Blog Your #1 Source for Technology news and tips! http://www.techgoldmine.com/
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Articles may be reprinted provided content is not edited and links are kept live
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Thursday, July 3, 2008
Custom Accounting Software - Customize Accounting for Your Business! by Cynics Software
Do you know customize accounting software can give your company financial reporting with full automation, reducing human resources cost and increasing overall company productivity by providing faster reporting and decision support data? Find out how customize accounting software can boost your company competitive advantages in this article.
The first rule in competition - Stand out of the crowd! Only customize software can give your company competitive advantage in technology, because highly customize means highly automated and faster responding! Certainly, if you only rely on the customize system to K.O. your competitor, this is not possible.
Although the Customize system can provide you great advantages, but at the end of the day, your company management still plays the most important part in overcoming your competitor, dominating the market! Leading company always optimize their business in every area: Customer services, Product Quality, After Sales Service and Powerful Information System!
To achieve this competitive advantage, standard accounting system will not be sufficient. However, the customize accounting system requires a business process analyst to redesign the flow of company operation, ensure each department will be fully optimized, meaning minimizing all double entry works at the same time provides fastest reporting possible.
Source code based accounting software can help to minimize resource needed to complete the customization. There is some very good source code system out there, most of them are web based or windows based, while these source codes based system can save you time, incorrect selection might cost you time as well!
A good source code based accounting software must fulfill these requirements:
Requirement #1 - Royalty free.
No further client license charges, only one time source code charges. The Software after compilation should be able to distribute as many clients as necessary without any charges, that's the power of source code based software!
Requirement #2 - SQL database.
While another accounting software is using proprietary database, source code system usually comes with powerful SQL server support, increasing scalability in every way!
Requirement #3 - RAD ready.
The source code should be RAD ready, developer can easily modify the system using Rapid Application Development tools without the needs to do a lot of codings.
If the source code met above 3 requirements, you are safe to proceed. Just remember the most important note in customize accounting software - business process re-engineering!
Copyright © 2008 - Cynics Software. Feel free to distribute this article, along with the resources box in place without modification.
Author Info:
Cynics Software is the leading source code based accounting software provider, they also provide customize accounting and software services.
Terms:
Articles may be reprinted provided content is not edited and links are kept live
Source: Article Depot - Search Free Articles
The first rule in competition - Stand out of the crowd! Only customize software can give your company competitive advantage in technology, because highly customize means highly automated and faster responding! Certainly, if you only rely on the customize system to K.O. your competitor, this is not possible.
Although the Customize system can provide you great advantages, but at the end of the day, your company management still plays the most important part in overcoming your competitor, dominating the market! Leading company always optimize their business in every area: Customer services, Product Quality, After Sales Service and Powerful Information System!
To achieve this competitive advantage, standard accounting system will not be sufficient. However, the customize accounting system requires a business process analyst to redesign the flow of company operation, ensure each department will be fully optimized, meaning minimizing all double entry works at the same time provides fastest reporting possible.
Source code based accounting software can help to minimize resource needed to complete the customization. There is some very good source code system out there, most of them are web based or windows based, while these source codes based system can save you time, incorrect selection might cost you time as well!
A good source code based accounting software must fulfill these requirements:
Requirement #1 - Royalty free.
No further client license charges, only one time source code charges. The Software after compilation should be able to distribute as many clients as necessary without any charges, that's the power of source code based software!
Requirement #2 - SQL database.
While another accounting software is using proprietary database, source code system usually comes with powerful SQL server support, increasing scalability in every way!
Requirement #3 - RAD ready.
The source code should be RAD ready, developer can easily modify the system using Rapid Application Development tools without the needs to do a lot of codings.
If the source code met above 3 requirements, you are safe to proceed. Just remember the most important note in customize accounting software - business process re-engineering!
Copyright © 2008 - Cynics Software. Feel free to distribute this article, along with the resources box in place without modification.
Author Info:
Cynics Software is the leading source code based accounting software provider, they also provide customize accounting and software services.
Terms:
Articles may be reprinted provided content is not edited and links are kept live
Source: Article Depot - Search Free Articles
5 Tips For Purchasing Notebook by Christy Myers
Most of the business executives and professionals are using the notebook for convenient usage and flexible nature.
It is one of the most advantageous features of the notebook. The notebook is most convenient for the frequent travelers. There are many companies offer notebook like Acer, HCL, Compaq, Dell, and Sony etc. The laptop is available in two different models like Celeron and Pentium.
Here are the five key tips to select the notebook.
1. You must have to get the idea about the different models and capacity of the notebook. You must go through Acer, HCL, Compaq, Dell, and Sony etc websites to know the specifications and prices.
2. The CPU of the notebooks is available in the two types like Celeron and Pentium processor. Depends on usage people prefer to purchase the CPU. There is one more Centrino processor is available in notebook. It is the latest version of dual features of better efficiency and the mobility.
3. The second important thing in the notebook is the battery life. You must have to select the notebook with longer battery life. Apart from that you must have to maintain the battery properly.
4. The third important is the capacity of the hard disk to save the data. The hard disk is available in different capacity right from 30 GB to 60 GB space. You need to install it based on your need. People uses MP3 music as well as see the screenshots in the notebook.
5. The forth-important thing is capacity of the RAM. The RAM is depends on your choice of configuration. You can select the RAM from 64 to 128 MB or 1024 MB RAM.
Author Info:
Christy Myers is a writer for http://www.1866computers.com , the premier website to find Computers, computer, computer notebook, laptop computers, computer desktop, computer service and many more.
Terms:
Articles may be reprinted provided content is not edited and links are kept live
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It is one of the most advantageous features of the notebook. The notebook is most convenient for the frequent travelers. There are many companies offer notebook like Acer, HCL, Compaq, Dell, and Sony etc. The laptop is available in two different models like Celeron and Pentium.
Here are the five key tips to select the notebook.
1. You must have to get the idea about the different models and capacity of the notebook. You must go through Acer, HCL, Compaq, Dell, and Sony etc websites to know the specifications and prices.
2. The CPU of the notebooks is available in the two types like Celeron and Pentium processor. Depends on usage people prefer to purchase the CPU. There is one more Centrino processor is available in notebook. It is the latest version of dual features of better efficiency and the mobility.
3. The second important thing in the notebook is the battery life. You must have to select the notebook with longer battery life. Apart from that you must have to maintain the battery properly.
4. The third important is the capacity of the hard disk to save the data. The hard disk is available in different capacity right from 30 GB to 60 GB space. You need to install it based on your need. People uses MP3 music as well as see the screenshots in the notebook.
5. The forth-important thing is capacity of the RAM. The RAM is depends on your choice of configuration. You can select the RAM from 64 to 128 MB or 1024 MB RAM.
Author Info:
Christy Myers is a writer for http://www.1866computers.com , the premier website to find Computers, computer, computer notebook, laptop computers, computer desktop, computer service and many more.
Terms:
Articles may be reprinted provided content is not edited and links are kept live
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The Real Threat Posed by Viruses by Sandra Prior
Where do computer virus myths come from? It’s hard to say. One minute you think you know how they work, and the next you’re being told you can get viruses from cookies, Javascript on Web pages, viewing GIF files, and so on. All nonsense of course, but it’s understandable to feel concerned. And it’s a lot healthier than completely assuming you’re safe from computer viruses, because unless you get rid of your PC that certainly isn’t true.
Definitions
A virus is a computer program that is designed to enter PCs without the user’s knowledge, then replicate itself throughout the system. Some viruses carry a ‘payload’ which activates eventually – this can be anything from displaying a silly message on the screen to wiping out all the files on your hard disk.
An important step to protecting yourself is to realize when programs are running on your PC, because viruses can exploit them all. The first opportunity occurs when you switch on your computer. Both floppy disks and hard disks contain a little ‘boot sector’ program, which either displays a ‘you can’t boot from me’ message (on a normal floppy), or loads your operating system (on a hard disk). Boot sector viruses infect this program, so loading into memory every time you start your PC, then copying itself to every floppy disk you read.
Other viruses target files containing program code; every time you run the infected program, it loads itself into memory, then might copy itself to other programs. Not just .exe files, either - .com, .dll, .ocx, .drv, .sys, and so on, are all at risk. After copying itself the original application continues to run and you never realize there’s a problem, until the payload hits you.
Still, at least data files are safe, right? Wrong. Many Microsoft programs enable files such as Word documents and spreadsheets to contain program code (macros). This is great for automated office applications, but also presents another risk point. Just viewing a document carrying a macro virus can be enough to infect your whole system.
Don’t Panic
Alarmed? You should be, but there’s no need to panic. Modern antivirus software has some powerful features to prevent you getting infected. Two methods are particularly common.
The first involves maintaining a table of virus signatures – sequences of bytes that occur in the virus program itself. Scan a downloaded file, and if you find that signature then you know the file might be infected. The signature approach is useful and quick, but can give false alarms if the signature occurs innocently somewhere. It’s no use on new viruses that aren’t in the signature file yet. And some viruses are polymorphic, meaning they change their own structure and just don’t have a consistent signature anyway.
Fortunately the best antivirus software has another weapon in its arsenal – the heuristic approach. This involves looking for virus-like behavior – writing to an executable file, perhaps, or copying information to the boot sector. It’s a clever idea, and can even help detect completely new viruses.
Protect Yourself
Installing good antivirus software is a great idea, but it’s only the first step. There are lots of other things you can do to help protect yourself. First you need to keep the software updated to cope with new threats. Some antivirus programs can update themselves automatically, but it’s still worth visiting the author’s web site every week to find out what’s going on. And don’t forget about the security settings on other software.
There will always be some risk from viruses, but good antivirus software, combined with regular backups, should mean you can recover, if the worst happens.
Author Info:
Subscribe to Sandra Prior’s Online Newsletter and get up to date Computer Technology News delivered right to your email box for free. See website for details http://usacomputers.rr.nu and http://sacomputers.rr.nu
Terms:
Articles may be reprinted provided content is not edited and links are kept live
Source: Article Depot - Search Free Articles
Definitions
A virus is a computer program that is designed to enter PCs without the user’s knowledge, then replicate itself throughout the system. Some viruses carry a ‘payload’ which activates eventually – this can be anything from displaying a silly message on the screen to wiping out all the files on your hard disk.
An important step to protecting yourself is to realize when programs are running on your PC, because viruses can exploit them all. The first opportunity occurs when you switch on your computer. Both floppy disks and hard disks contain a little ‘boot sector’ program, which either displays a ‘you can’t boot from me’ message (on a normal floppy), or loads your operating system (on a hard disk). Boot sector viruses infect this program, so loading into memory every time you start your PC, then copying itself to every floppy disk you read.
Other viruses target files containing program code; every time you run the infected program, it loads itself into memory, then might copy itself to other programs. Not just .exe files, either - .com, .dll, .ocx, .drv, .sys, and so on, are all at risk. After copying itself the original application continues to run and you never realize there’s a problem, until the payload hits you.
Still, at least data files are safe, right? Wrong. Many Microsoft programs enable files such as Word documents and spreadsheets to contain program code (macros). This is great for automated office applications, but also presents another risk point. Just viewing a document carrying a macro virus can be enough to infect your whole system.
Don’t Panic
Alarmed? You should be, but there’s no need to panic. Modern antivirus software has some powerful features to prevent you getting infected. Two methods are particularly common.
The first involves maintaining a table of virus signatures – sequences of bytes that occur in the virus program itself. Scan a downloaded file, and if you find that signature then you know the file might be infected. The signature approach is useful and quick, but can give false alarms if the signature occurs innocently somewhere. It’s no use on new viruses that aren’t in the signature file yet. And some viruses are polymorphic, meaning they change their own structure and just don’t have a consistent signature anyway.
Fortunately the best antivirus software has another weapon in its arsenal – the heuristic approach. This involves looking for virus-like behavior – writing to an executable file, perhaps, or copying information to the boot sector. It’s a clever idea, and can even help detect completely new viruses.
Protect Yourself
Installing good antivirus software is a great idea, but it’s only the first step. There are lots of other things you can do to help protect yourself. First you need to keep the software updated to cope with new threats. Some antivirus programs can update themselves automatically, but it’s still worth visiting the author’s web site every week to find out what’s going on. And don’t forget about the security settings on other software.
There will always be some risk from viruses, but good antivirus software, combined with regular backups, should mean you can recover, if the worst happens.
Author Info:
Subscribe to Sandra Prior’s Online Newsletter and get up to date Computer Technology News delivered right to your email box for free. See website for details http://usacomputers.rr.nu and http://sacomputers.rr.nu
Terms:
Articles may be reprinted provided content is not edited and links are kept live
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