Great Tutorials For All

Block Websites in XP Without Any Software

noreply@blogger.com (ADMIN) — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 13:40:00 +0000

Here is The Steps Follow it !!

1] Browse C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\etc

2] Find the file named "HOSTS"

3] Open it in notepad

4] Under "127.0.0.1 localhost" Add 127.0.0.2 www.sitenameyouwantblocked.com , and that site will no longer be accessable.

5] Done!

-So-

127.0.0.1 localhost

127.0.0.2 www.blockedsite.com

-->www.blockedsite.com is now unaccessable<--

For every site after that you want to add, just add "1" to the last number in the internal ip (127.0.0.2) and then the addy like before.

IE: 127.0.0.7 www.rto.com

127.0.0.8 www.rto.com

127.0.0.9 www.rto.com

THATS ALL ENJOY!!!!

#How to Back Up the Registry#

noreply@blogger.com (ADMIN) — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 13:29:00 +0000

Before Doin Research With your Installed XP, it is Must that You Take A Backup of Whole Registry So Finally Here Is the Way to do Backup of Whole Registry....

Before you edit the registry, export the keys in the registry that you plan to edit, or back up the whole registry. If a problem occurs, you can then follow the steps how-to restore the registry to its previous state.

How to Export Registry Keys

Click Start, and then click Run.

In the Open box, type regedit, and then click OK.

On the File menu, click Export.

In the Save in box, select the boxs at the bottom the bottom according to weather you want to export all or only selected branches of the registry.

Next select a location in which to save the backup .reg file. In the File name box, type a file name, and then click Save.

How to Restore the Registry

To restore registry keys that you exported, double-click the .reg file that you saved.

#How to Add an Option to Print the Contents of a Folder#

noreply@blogger.com (ADMIN) — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 13:15:00 +0000

So want to print all contents of folder at a time Here is theSolution How to Add an Option to Print the Contents of a Folder

Would you like to be able to right click any folder in Explorer and print its contents? You can add this option to the context menu by following these steps:

First, you need to create a batch file called Printdir.bat. Open Notepad or another text editor and type (or cut and paste) this text:

@echo off

dir %1 /-p /o:gn > "%temp%\Listing"

start /w notepad /p "%temp%\Listing"

del "%temp%\Listing"

exit

Now, in the Save As dialog box, type "%windir%\Printdir.bat" (without the quotation marks) and click the Save button.

Click Start, Control Panel, Folder Options.

Click the File Types tab, and then click File Folder.

Click the Advanced button.

Click the New button.

In the Action box, type "Print Directory Listing" (without the quotation marks).

In the Application used to perform action box, type "Printdir.bat" (without the quotation marks).

Click OK in all three dialog boxes to close the dialog boxes.

You're not quite finished yet! Now you need to edit the Registry, so open your favorite Registry Editor.

Navigate to HKEY CLASSES ROOT\Directory\shell.

Right click on "default" and select Modify.

In the File Data box, type "none" (without the quotation marks).

Click OK and close the Registry Editor.

Now when you right click a folder, you'll see the option to Print Directory Listing. Selecting it will print the contents of the folder.

Thats it !!!!!!!!

#How To Access Your Folders From Your Taskbar#

noreply@blogger.com (ADMIN) — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 13:10:00 +0000

This is an easy way to get to the folders on your system without having to open a Windows Explorer Window every time you want to access files. I find it very useful to have this feature as it allows me to access my Folders and Drives immediately and saves me a lot of time.

This works in Windows XP:

1. Right Click an empty spot on your Taskbar (Between your Start Button and your System Tray).

2. Click Toolbars.

3. Click New Toolbar.

4. A Small Window will Open that allows you to pick the folder you wish to make a Toolbar. If you want to access your Desktop Without having to minimize all your windows. Just Pick Desktop. If you want to access ONLY your My Documents Folder, Select that. Any folder will work for this.

5. Click OK.

The New Tool bar will appear at the bottom of your screen next to your System Tray.

If you find this to be not useful, Repeat Steps 1 and 2 and then check click the Toolbar you created that has a check mark next to it. And it will disappear.

#Legal way Password Recovery in Windows XP#

noreply@blogger.com (ADMIN) — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 13:03:00 +0000

XP @ XP

You have several options to try and get around this problem.

If you have access to another user account with administrator rights, you can use that account to change the password

of the account that is locked out. You can also use the default Administrator account that is built into Windows XP.

First you need to boot the system into Safe Mode.

1.Restart your system.

2.When you see the blue Dell globe or screen, press the ( F8 ) key about 3 times a second.

3.You should get the Windows startup menu. Use the (Up or Down) arrow keys to highlight (SafeMode)

4.Press (Enter) on (Safe Mode), then press (Enter) on (Windows XP).

5.The system should boot to Safe Mode.

Once you are at the Account Log on Screen, click on the icon

for the user account with administrator rights, or click on the icon

for the administrators account.

Note: For Home the Administrator account isn't normally shown & in Safe Mode you have to press Ctrl+Alt+Delete keys twice to show.

For PRO you can do this in normal mode

When the system has booted to the desktop, use the following steps to change the accounts password.

1.Click Start, Control Panel, Administrative Tools.

2.Click Computer Management.

3.Double click Local Users and Groups, double click the folder Users.

4.Right click on the account name that is locked out, and click on Set Password.

5.You may get a warning message about changing the password, simply click proceed.

6.Leave the New Password box blank, also leave the Confirm Password box blank.

7.Click OK, and OK again.

8.Then close all Windows, reboot the system and try to log in.

There are also applications that can recover password... Search for it...

If the above information does not help in recovering the password, the only option left is to

format the hard drive then reinstall Windows and the

#Ho to Bypass Secure Sites#

noreply@blogger.com (ADMIN) — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 13:01:00 +0000

Cant See Secure Sites

Fix the problem with seeing them secrue sites (banks or online stores) i found this very usefull to me.

Any way... what u need to do is make a new notepad file and write in it the followng DLL's.. just copy-paste these

regsvr32 SOFTPUB.DLL

regsvr32 WINTRUST.DLL

regsvr32 INITPKI.DLL

regsvr32 dssenh.dll

regsvr32 Rsaenh.dll

regsvr32 gpkcsp.dll

regsvr32 sccbase.dll

regsvr32 slbcsp.dll

regsvr32 Cryptdlg.dll

and save it as > all file types, and make it something like securefix.bat.

then just run the file and ur problem shuld be gone.

#How to Search Google Effectively#

noreply@blogger.com (ADMIN) — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 12:40:00 +0000

20 Great Google Search Secrets

Refrence:

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,4149,1306756,00.asp

http://www.pcmag.com

great site please do visit there...

Google is clearly the best general-purpose search engine on the Web (see

www.pcmag.com/searchengines

But most people don't use it to its best advantage. Do you just plug in a keyword or two and hope for the best? That may be the quickest way to search, but with more than 3 billion pages in Google's index, it's still a struggle to pare results to a manageable number.

But Google is an remarkably powerful tool that can ease and enhance your Internet exploration. Google's search options go beyond simple keywords, the Web, and even its own programmers. Let's look at some of Google's lesser-known options.

Syntax Search Tricks

Using a special syntax is a way to tell Google that you want to restrict your searches to certain elements or characteristics of Web pages. Google has a fairly complete list of its syntax elements at

www.google.com/help/operators.html

. Here are some advanced operators that can help narrow down your search results.

Intitle: at the beginning of a query word or phrase (intitle:"Three Blind Mice") restricts your search results to just the titles of Web pages.

Intext: does the opposite of intitle:, searching only the body text, ignoring titles, links, and so forth. Intext: is perfect when what you're searching for might commonly appear in URLs. If you're looking for the term HTML, for example, and you don't want to get results such as

www.mysite.com/index.html

, you can enter intext:html.

Link: lets you see which pages are linking to your Web page or to another page you're interested in. For example, try typing in

link:http://www.pcmag.com

Try using site: (which restricts results to top-level domains) with intitle: to find certain types of pages. For example, get scholarly pages about Mark Twain by searching for intitle:"Mark Twain"site:edu. Experiment with mixing various elements; you'll develop several strategies for finding the stuff you want more effectively. The site: command is very helpful as an alternative to the mediocre search engines built into many sites.

Swiss Army Google

Google has a number of services that can help you accomplish tasks you may never have thought to use Google for. For example, the new calculator feature

(www.google.com/help/features.html#calculator)

lets you do both math and a variety of conversions from the search box. For extra fun, try the query "Answer to life the universe and everything."

Let Google help you figure out whether you've got the right spelling—and the right word—for your search. Enter a misspelled word or phrase into the query box (try "thre blund mise") and Google may suggest a proper spelling. This doesn't always succeed; it works best when the word you're searching for can be found in a dictionary. Once you search for a properly spelled word, look at the results page, which repeats your query. (If you're searching for "three blind mice," underneath the search window will appear a statement such as Searched the web for "three blind mice.") You'll discover that you can click on each word in your search phrase and get a definition from a dictionary.

Suppose you want to contact someone and don't have his phone number handy. Google can help you with that, too. Just enter a name, city, and state. (The city is optional, but you must enter a state.) If a phone number matches the listing, you'll see it at the top of the search results along with a map link to the address. If you'd rather restrict your results, use rphonebook: for residential listings or bphonebook: for business listings. If you'd rather use a search form for business phone listings, try Yellow Search

(www.buzztoolbox.com/google/yellowsearch.shtml).

Extended Googling

Google offers several services that give you a head start in focusing your search. Google Groups

(http://groups.google.com)

indexes literally millions of messages from decades of discussion on Usenet. Google even helps you with your shopping via two tools: Froogle

CODE

(http://froogle.google.com),

which indexes products from online stores, and Google Catalogs

CODE

(http://catalogs.google.com),

which features products from more 6,000 paper catalogs in a searchable index. And this only scratches the surface. You can get a complete list of Google's tools and services at

www.google.com/options/index.html

You're probably used to using Google in your browser. But have you ever thought of using Google outside your browser?

Google Alert

(www.googlealert.com)

monitors your search terms and e-mails you information about new additions to Google's Web index. (Google Alert is not affiliated with Google; it uses Google's Web services API to perform its searches.) If you're more interested in news stories than general Web content, check out the beta version of Google News Alerts

(www.google.com/newsalerts).

This service (which is affiliated with Google) will monitor up to 50 news queries per e-mail address and send you information about news stories that match your query. (Hint: Use the intitle: and source: syntax elements with Google News to limit the number of alerts you get.)

Google on the telephone? Yup. This service is brought to you by the folks at Google Labs

(http://labs.google.com),

a place for experimental Google ideas and features (which may come and go, so what's there at this writing might not be there when you decide to check it out). With Google Voice Search

(http://labs1.google.com/gvs.html),

you dial the Voice Search phone number, speak your keywords, and then click on the indicated link. Every time you say a new search term, the results page will refresh with your new query (you must have JavaScript enabled for this to work). Remember, this service is still in an experimental phase, so don't expect 100 percent success.

In 2002, Google released the Google API (application programming interface), a way for programmers to access Google's search engine results without violating the Google Terms of Service. A lot of people have created useful (and occasionally not-so-useful but interesting) applications not available from Google itself, such as Google Alert. For many applications, you'll need an API key, which is available free from

CODE

www.google.com/apis

. See the figures for two more examples, and visit

www.pcmag.com/solutions

for more.

Thanks to its many different search properties, Google goes far beyond a regular search engine. Give the tricks in this article a try. You'll be amazed at how many different ways Google can improve your Internet searching.

Online Extra: More Google Tips

Here are a few more clever ways to tweak your Google searches.

Search Within a Timeframe

Daterange: (start date–end date). You can restrict your searches to pages that were indexed within a certain time period. Daterange: searches by when Google indexed a page, not when the page itself was created. This operator can help you ensure that results will have fresh content (by using recent dates), or you can use it to avoid a topic's current-news blizzard and concentrate only on older results. Daterange: is actually more useful if you go elsewhere to take advantage of it, because daterange: requires Julian dates, not standard Gregorian dates. You can find converters on the Web (such as

CODE

http://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/docs/JulianDate.html

excl.gif No Active Links, Read the Rules - Edit by Ninja excl.gif

), but an easier way is to do a Google daterange: search by filling in a form at

www.researchbuzz.com/toolbox/goofresh.shtml or www.faganfinder.com/engines/google.shtml

. If one special syntax element is good, two must be better, right? Sometimes. Though some operators can't be mixed (you can't use the link: operator with anything else) many can be, quickly narrowing your results to a less overwhelming number.

More Google API Applications

Staggernation.com offers three tools based on the Google API. The Google API Web Search by Host (GAWSH) lists the Web hosts of the results for a given query

(www.staggernation.com/gawsh/).

When you click on the triangle next to each host, you get a list of results for that host. The Google API Relation Browsing Outliner (GARBO) is a little more complicated: You enter a URL and choose whether you want pages that related to the URL or linked to the URL

(www.staggernation.com/garbo/).

Click on the triangle next to an URL to get a list of pages linked or related to that particular URL. CapeMail is an e-mail search application that allows you to send an e-mail to google@capeclear.com with the text of your query in the subject line and get the first ten results for that query back. Maybe it's not something you'd do every day, but if your cell phone does e-mail and doesn't do Web browsing, this is a very handy address to know.

Almost Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Security

noreply@blogger.com (ADMIN) — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 06:49:00 +0000

Almost Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Security*

*(but were afraid to ask!)

This document is meant to answer some of the questions which regularly

appear in the Usenet newsgroups "comp.security.misc" and "alt.security",

and is meant to provide some background to the subject for newcomers to

that newsgroup.

This FAQ is maintained by Alec Muffett (aem@aber.ac.uk, uknet!aber!aem),

with contributions from numerous others [perhaps]. The views expressed

in the document are the personal views of the author(s), and it should

not be inferred that they are necessarily shared by anyone with whom the

author(s) are now, or ever may be, associated.

Many thanks go to (in no particular order): Steve Bellovin, Matt Bishop,

Mark Brader, Ed DeHart, Dave Hayes, Jeffrey Hutzelman, William LeFebvre,

Wes Morgan, Rob Quinn, Chip Rosenthal, Wietse Venema, Gene Spafford,

John Wack and Randall Atkinson.

Disclaimer: Every attempt is made to ensure that the information

contained in this FAQ is up to date and accurate, but no responsibility

will be accepted for actions resulting from information gained herein.

Questions which this document addresses:

Q.1 What are alt.security and comp.security.misc for?

Q.2 Whats the difference between a hacker and a cracker?

Q.3 What is "security through obscurity"

Q.4 What makes a system insecure?

Q.5 What tools are there to aid security?

Q.6 Isn't it dangerous to give cracking tools to everyone?

Q.7 Where can I get these tools?

Q.8 Why and how do systems get broken into?

Q.9 Who can I contact if I get broken into?

Q.10 What is a firewall?

Q.11 Why shouldn't I use setuid shell scripts?

Q.12 Why shouldn't I leave "root" permanently logged on the console?

Q.13 Why shouldn't I create Unix accounts with null passwords?

Q.14 What security holes are associated with X-windows (and other WMs)?

Q.15 What security holes are associated with NFS?

Q.16 How can I generate safe passwords?

Q.17 Why are passwords so important?

Q.18 How many possible passwords are there?

Q.19 Where can I get more information?

Q.20 How silly can people get?

COMPUTER MAINTENANCE(MUST READ)

noreply@blogger.com (ADMIN) — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 05:12:00 +0000

Read on to learn what you can do to help improve your computer's security.

Start Here>>>>>>>>

Here are some basics maintenance tasks you can do today to start improving your computer's security. Be sure you make these part of your ongoing maintenance as well.

> Sign up for software update e-mail notices. Many software companies will send you e-mail whenever a software update is available. This is particularly important for your operating system, your antivirus program, and your firewall.
> Register your software. If you still have registration forms for existing software, send them in. And be sure to register new software in the future. This is another way for the software manufacturer to alert you when new updates are available.
> Install software updates immediately.
When you get an update notice, download the update immediately and install it. (Remember, downloading and installing are two separate tasks.)
An ounce of prevention

A few simple steps will help you keep your files safe and clean.

> Step 1: Update your software
> Step 2: Backup your files
> Step 3: Use antivirus software and keep it updated
> Step 4: Change your passwords

Developing ongoing maintenance practices

Now that you've done some ground work, it's time to start moving into longer term maintenance tasks. These are all tasks that you should do today (or as soon as possible) to get started. But for best results, make these a part of a regular maintenance schedule. I recommend setting aside time each week to help keep your computer secure.

> Back up your files. Backing up your files simply means creating a copy of your computer files that you can use in the event the originals are lost. (Accidents can happen.) To learn more read our tips for backing up information.

> Scan your files with up to date antivirus software. Use your antivirus scan tool regularly to search for potential computer viruses and worms. Also, check your antivirus program's user manual to see if you can schedule an automatic scan of your computer. To learn more, read our tips for reducing your virus risk.

> Change your passwords. Using the same password increases the odds that someone else will discover it. Change all of your passwords regularly (we recommend monthly) to reduce your risk. Also, choose your passwords carefully. To learn more, read our tips for creating stronger passwords.

Making a schedule

One of the best ways to help protect your computer is to perform maintenance regularly. To help you keep track, I suggest making a regular "appointment" with your computer. Treat it like you would any other appointment. Record it in your datebook or online calendar, and if you cannot make it, reschedule. Remember, you are not only helping to improve your computer, you are also helping to protect your personal information.

HAVE A NICE DAY AHEAD ..

Computer Acronyms and abbreviation

noreply@blogger.com (ADMIN) — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 05:01:00 +0000

ADSL - Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line
AGP - Accelerated Graphics Port
ALI - Acer Labs, Incorporated
ALU - Arithmetic Logic Unit
AMD - Advanced Micro Devices
APC - American Power Conversion
ASCII - American Standard Code for Information Interchange
ASIC - Application Specific Integrated Circuit
ASPI - Advanced SCSI Programming Interface
AT - Advanced Technology
ATI - ATI Technologies Inc.
ATX - Advanced Technology Extended

--- B ---
BFG - BFG Technologies
BIOS - Basic Input Output System
BNC - Barrel Nut Connector

--- C ---
CAS - Column Address Signal
CD - Compact Disk
CDR - Compact Disk Recorder
CDRW - Compact Disk Re-Writer
CD-ROM - Compact Disk - Read Only Memory
CFM - Cubic Feet per Minute (ft/min)
CMOS - Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor
CPU - Central Processing Unit
CTX - CTX Technology Corporation (Commited to Excellence)

--- D ---

DDR - Double Data Rate
DDR-SDRAM - Double Data Rate - Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory
DFI - DFI Inc. (Design for Innovation)
DIMM - Dual Inline Memory Module
DRAM - Dynamic Random Access Memory
DPI - Dots Per Inch
DSL - See ASDL
DVD - Digital Versatile Disc
DVD-RAM - Digital Versatile Disk - Random Access Memory

--- E ---
ECC - Error Correction Code
ECS - Elitegroup Computer Systems
EDO - Extended Data Out
EEPROM - Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory
EPROM - Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory
EVGA - EVGA Corporation

--- F ---
FC-PGA - Flip Chip Pin Grid Array
FDC - Floppy Disk Controller
FDD - Floppy Disk Drive
FPS - Frame Per Second
FPU - Floating Point Unit
FSAA - Full Screen Anti-Aliasing
FS - For Sale
FSB - Front Side Bus

--- G ---
GB - Gigabytes
GBps - Gigabytes per second or Gigabits per second
GDI - Graphical Device Interface
GHz - GigaHertz

--- H ---
HDD - Hard Disk Drive
HIS - Hightech Information System Limited
HP - Hewlett-Packard Development Company
HSF - Heatsink-Fan

--- I ---
IBM - International Business Machines Corporation
IC - Integrated Circuit
IDE - Integrated Drive Electronics
IFS- Item for Sale
IRQ - Interrupt Request
ISA - Industry Standard Architecture
ISO - International Standards Organization

--- J ---
JBL - JBL (Jame B. Lansing) Speakers
JVC - JVC Company of America

- K ---
Kbps - Kilobits Per Second
KBps - KiloBytes per second

--- L ---
LG - LG Electronics
LAN - Local Area Network
LCD - Liquid Crystal Display
LDT - Lightning Data Transport
LED - Light Emitting Diode

--- M ---
MAC - Media Access Control
MB - MotherBoard or Megabyte
MBps - Megabytes Per Second
Mbps - Megabits Per Second or Megabits Per Second
MHz - MegaHertz
MIPS - Million Instructions Per Second
MMX - Multi-Media Extensions
MSI - Micro Star International

--- N ---
NAS - Network Attached Storage
NAT - Network Address Translation
NEC - NEC Corporation
NIC - Network Interface Card

--- O ---
OC - Overclock (Over Clock)
OCZ - OCZ Technology
OEM - Original Equipment Manufacturer

--- P ---
PC - Personal Computer
PCB - Printed Circuit Board
PCI - Peripheral Component Interconnect
PDA - Personal Digital Assistant
PCMCIA - Peripheral Component Microchannel Interconnect Architecture
PGA - Professional Graphics Array
PLD - Programmable Logic Device
PM - Private Message / Private Messaging
PnP - Plug 'n Play
PNY - PNY Technology
POST - Power On Self Test
PPPoA - Point-to-Point Protocol over ATM
PPPoE - Point-to-Point Protocol over Ethernet
PQI - PQI Corporation
PSU - Power Supply Unit

--- R ---
RAID - Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks
RAM - Random Access Memory
RAMDAC - Random Access Memory Digital Analog Convertor
RDRAM - Rambus Dynamic Random Access Memory
ROM - Read Only Memory
RPM - Revolutions Per Minute

--- S ---
SASID - Self-scanned Amorphous Silicon Integrated Display
SCA - SCSI Configured Automatically
SCSI - Small Computer System Interface
SDRAM - Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory
SECC - Single Edge Contact Connector
SODIMM - Small Outline Dual Inline Memory Module
SPARC - Scalable Processor ArChitecture
SOHO - Small Office Home Office
SRAM - Static Random Access Memory
SSE - Streaming SIMD Extensions
SVGA - Super Video Graphics Array
S/PDIF - Sony/Philips Digital Interface

--- T ---
TB - Terabytes
TBps - Terabytes per second
Tbps - Terabits per second
TDK - TDK Electronics
TEC - Thermoelectric Cooler
TPC - TipidPC
TWAIN - Technology Without An Important Name

--- U ---
UART - Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter
USB - Universal Serial Bus
UTP - Unshieled Twisted Pair

--- V ---
VCD - Video CD
VPN - Virtual Private Network

--- W ---
WAN - Wide Area Network
WTB - Want to Buy
WYSIWYG - What You See Is What You Get

--- X ---
XGA - Extended Graphics Array
XFX - XFX Graphics, a Division of Pine
XMS - Extended Memory Specification
XT - Extended Technology

Change The Default Location For Installing Application

noreply@blogger.com (ADMIN) — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 04:44:00 +0000

As the size of hard drives increase, more people are using partitions to separate and store groups of files.

XP uses the C:\Program Files directory as the default base directory into which new programs are installed. However, you can change the default installation drive and/ or directory by using a Registry hack.

Go to :-

- Start > Run

- Type “regedit” (without “” NOOBS!)

- Go to this directory…
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion

- Look for the value named ProgramFilesDir. by default,this value will be C:\Program Files. Edit the value to any valid drive or folder and XP will use that new location as the default installation directory for new programs.

Broken IE? Fix it !!

noreply@blogger.com (ADMIN) — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 04:35:00 +0000

If viruses and adware leaves you with a broken IE then Before you begin to even consider running a repair install of the OS, let’s try to do a repair on IE instead

PROCESS

Start the Registry Editor by typing regedit from the Run box. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Active Setup \ Installed Components \ {89820200-ECBD-11cf-8B85-00AA005B4383} and then right-click the “IsInstalled value.” Click Modify. From there, you will change the value from 1 to 0. All right, go ahead and close the editor and reinstall IE from this location. /http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/default.mspx

IF SOMETHING HAPPEN WRONG

If messing with the registry and something goes horribly wrong, you can use “Last Known Good Configuration (F8 Safe Mode)” or a Restore Point to get back to where you were before, with your settings. Then you can try again, this time taking care to watch the portion of the registry you are changing. Most people who have troubles with this end up changing the wrong registry key.

gOoD lUcK!

Torrent Tutorials Know About it !!

noreply@blogger.com (ADMIN) — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 04:29:00 +0000

Here you can find about torrent clients,what is torrent,bit torrent,azureus, how to download etc... and ALL ABOUT IT..

The first things you need to know about using Bit Torrent:
-- Bit Torrent is aimed at broadband users (or any connection better than dialup).
-- Sharing is highly appreciated, and sharing is what keeps bit torrent alive.
-- A bit torrent file (*.torrent) contains information about the piece structure of the download (more on this later)
-- The method of downloading is not your conventional type of download. Since downloads do not come in as one
big chunk, you are able to download from many people at once, increasing your download speeds. There may be
100 "pieces" to a file, or 20,000+ pieces, all depending on what you're downloading. Pieces are usually small (under 200kb)
-- The speeds are based upon people sharing as they download, and seeders. Seeders are people who constantly
share in order to keep torrents alive. Usually seeders are on fast connections (10mb or higher).

In this tutorial, I will be describing it all using a bit torrent client called Azureus. This client is used to decode the .torrent files into a useable format to download from other peers. From here on out, I will refer to Bit Torrent as BT.

Which BT client you use, is purely up to you. I have tried them all, and my personal favorite is Azureus for many reasons. A big problem with most BT clients out there, is that they are extremely CPU intensive, usually using 100% of your cpu power during the whole process. This is the number one reason I use Azureus. Another, is a recently released plug-in that enables you to browse all current files listed on suprnova.org (the #1 source for torrent downloads).

Before you use the plug-in, take a look at /http://www.suprnova.org, and browse the files. Hold your mouse over the links, and you'll notice every file ends in .torrent. This is the BT file extension. Usually, .torrent files are very small, under 200kb. They contain a wealth of information about the file you want to download. A .torrent file can contain just 1 single file, or a a directory full of files and more directories. But regardless, every download is split up into hundreds or thousands of pieces. The pieces make it much easier to download at higher speeds. Back to suprnova.org. Look at the columns:

Added | Name | Filesize | Seeds | DLs (and a few more which aren't very useful.)

I'll break this down.
Added: Self explanitory, its the date the torrent was added.
Name: Also self explanitory.
Filesize: Duh
Seeds: This is how many people are strictly UPLOADING, or sharing. These people are the ones that keep .torrent files alive. By "alive", I mean, if there's no one sharing the .torrent file, no one can download.
DLs: This is how many people currently downloading that particular torrent. They also help keep the torrent alive as they share while they download.

It's always best to download using a torrent that has a decent amount of seeders and downloaders, this way you can be assured there's a good chance your download will finish. The more the better.

Now that you should understand how torrent files work, and how to use them, on to Azureus!
First, get JAVA! You need this to run Azureus, as java is what powers it. Get Java here: /http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.4.2/download.html
Next, get Azureus at: /http://azureus.sourceforge.net
Next, get the Suprnovalister plugin from /http://s93732957.onlinehome.us/storage/suprnovalister.jar

Install Java JRE before you do ANYTHING.

Install Azureus, and then in the installation folder, create 2 more folders. ./Plugins/suprnovalister (For example, if you installed Azureus to C:\PROGRAM FILES\AZUREUS, create C:\PROGRAM FILES\AZUREUS\PLUGINS\SUPRNOVALISTER). Next, put the suprnovalister.jar file that you downloaded, in that folder.

Load up Azureus, and if you want, go through the settings and personalize it.

The tab labeled "My Torrents" is the section of Azureus you need the most often. That lists all your transfers, uploads and downloads. It shows every bit of information you could possibly want to know about torrents you download.

In the menu bar, go to View > Plugins > Suprnova Lister. This will open up a new tab in Azureus. Click on "Update Mirror". This will get a mirror site of suprnova.org containing all current torrent files available. Once a mirror is grabbed, choose a category from the drop-down box to the left and click "Update". Wah-lah, all the available downloads appear in the main chart above. Just double click a download you want, and bang its starting to download. Open the "My Torrents" tab again to view and make sure your download started.

After your download has finished, be nice, and leave the torrent transferring. So people can get pieces of the file from you, just as you got pieces from other people.

Alternatively, if you don't want to use the plugin... you can just head to suprnova.org and download files to any folder. Then go to File > Open > .torrent File in Azureus.

This should about wrap it up for the Bit Torrent Tutorial. If you guys think of anything I should add, or whatnot, just let me know and I'll check into it.

Boot Winxp Fast

noreply@blogger.com (ADMIN) — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 04:16:00 +0000

Follow the following steps

1. Open notepad.exe, type "del c:\windows\prefetch\ntosboot-*.* /q" (without the quotes) & save as "ntosboot.bat" in c:\
2. From the Start menu, select "Run..." & type "gpedit.msc".
3. Double click "Windows Settings" under "Computer Configuration" and double click again on "Shutdown" in the right window.
4. In the new window, click "add", "Browse", locate your "ntosboot.bat" file & click "Open".
5. Click "OK", "Apply" & "OK" once again to exit.
6. From the Start menu, select "Run..." & type "devmgmt.msc".
7. Double click on "IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers"
8. Right click on "Primary IDE Channel" and select "Properties".
9. Select the "Advanced Settings" tab then on the device or 1 that doesn't have 'device type' greyed out select 'none' instead of 'autodetect' & click "OK".
10. Right click on "Secondary IDE channel", select "Properties" and repeat step 9.
11. Reboot your computer.

Get in windows 2000 as Administrator.

noreply@blogger.com (ADMIN) — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 04:11:00 +0000

>>> NOTE: Requires a boot disk.
>
>>> Get the command prompt and go to C:\winnt\sytem32\config\ and do
the following commands:
>>> attrib -a -r -h
>>> copy sam.* a:\
>>> del Sam.*
>
>>> reboot the computer. there should be no administrator password.
just put in administrator and hit enter. replace the sam files to
restore the password to hide intrusion.

A BIT ABOUT NETWORKING

noreply@blogger.com (ADMIN) — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 18:52:00 +0000

switch (network switch)

(reference:about.com)

Definition: A network switch is a small hardware device that joins multiple computers together within one local area network (LAN). Technically, network switches operate at layer two (Data Link Layer) of the OSI model.

Network switches appear nearly identical to network hubs, but a switch generally contains more "intelligence" (and a slightly higher price tag) than a hub. Unlike hubs, network switches are capable of inspecting data packets as they are received, determining the source and destination device of that packet, and forwarding it appropriately. By delivering each message only to the connected device it was intended for, a network switch conserves network bandwidth and offers generally better performance than a hub.

As with hubs, Ethernet implementations of network switches are the most common. Mainstream Ethernet network switches support either 10 Mbps, 100 Mbps, or 10/100 Mbps Ethernet standards.

Different models of network switches support differing numbers of connected devices. Most consumer-grade network switches provide either four or eight connections for Ethernet devices. Switches can be connected to each other. Such "daisy chaining" allows progressively larger number of devices to join the same LAN.

Ethernet hub

Definition: In computer networking, a hub is a small, simple, inexpensive device that joins multiple computers together. Many network hubs available today support the Ethernet standard. Other types including USB hubs also exist, but Ethernet is the type traditionally used in home networking.

Working With Ethernet Hubs

To network a group of computers using an Ethernet hub, first connect an Ethernet cable into the unit, then connect the other end of the cable to each computer's network interface card (NIC). All Ethernet hubs accept the RJ-45 connectors of standard Ethernet cables.

To expand a network to accommodate more devices, Ethernet hubs can also be connected to each other, to switches, or to routers.

Characteristics of Ethernet Hubs

Ethernet hubs vary in the speed (network data rate or bandwidth) they support. Some years ago, Ethernet hubs offered only 10 Mbps rated speeds. Newer types of hubs offer 100 Mbps Ethernet. Some support both 10 Mbps and 100 Mbps (so-called dual-speed or 10/100 hubs).

The number of ports an Ethernet hub supports also varies. Four- and five-port Ethernet hubs are most common in home networks, but eight- and 16-port hubs can be found in some home and small office environments.

Older Ethernet hubs were relatively large in size and sometimes noisy as they contained built in fans for cooling the unit. Newer devices are much smaller, designed for mobility, and noiseless.

When To Use an Ethernet Hub

Ethernet hubs operate as Layer 2 devices in the OSI model, the same as network switches. Although offering comparable functionality, nearly all mainstream home network equipment today utilizes network switch technology instead of hubs due to the performance benefits of switches. A hub can be useful for temporarily replacing a broken network switch or when performance is not a critical factor on the network.

Ethernet

Definition: Ethernet is a physical and data link layer technology for local area networks (LANs). Ethernet was invented by engineer Robert Metcalfe.

When first widely deployed in the 1980s, Ethernet supported a maximum theoretical data rate of 10 megabits per second (Mbps). Later, Fast Ethernet standards increased this maximum data rate to 100 Mbps. Today, Gigabit Ethernet technology further extends peak performance up to 1000 Mbps.

Higher level network protocols like Internet Protocol (IP) use Ethernet as their transmission medium. Data travels over Ethernet inside protocol units called frames.

The run length of individual Ethernet cables is limited to roughly 100 meters, but Ethernet can be bridged to easily network entire schools or office buildings.

Also Known As: Fast Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet

LAN - Local Area Network

Definition: A local area network (LAN) supplies networking capability to a group of computers in close proximity to each other such as in an office building, a school, or a home. A LAN is useful for sharing resources like files, printers, games or other applications. A LAN in turn often connects to other LANs, and to the Internet or other WAN.

Most local area networks are built with relatively inexpensive hardware such as Ethernet cables, network adapters, and hubs. Wireless LAN and other more advanced LAN hardware options also exist.

Specialized operating system software may be used to configure a local area network. For example, most flavors of Microsoft Windows provide a software package called Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) that supports controlled access to LAN resources.

The term LAN party refers to a multiplayer gaming event where participants bring their own computers and build a temporary LAN.

Also Known As: local area network

Examples: The most common type of local area network is an Ethernet LAN. The smallest home LAN can have exactly two computers; a large LAN can accommodate many thousands of computers. Many LANs are divided into logical groups called subnets. An Internet Protocol (IP) "Class A" LAN can in theory accommodate more than 16 million devices organized into subnets.

WAN - Wide Area Network

Definition: A WAN spans a large geographic area, such as a state, province or country. WANs often connect multiple smaller networks, such as local area networks (LANs) or metro area networks (MANs).

The world's most popular WAN is the Internet. Some segments of the Internet, like VPN-based extranets, are also WANs in themselves. Finally, many WANs are corporate or research networks that utilize leased lines.

WANs generally utilize different and much more expensive networking equipment than do LANs. Key technologies often found in WANs include SONET, Frame Relay, and ATM.

Also Known As: wide area network

extranet

Definition: An extranet is a computer network that allows controlled access from the outside for specific business or educational purposes. Extranets are extensions to, or segments of, private intranet networks that have been built in many corporations for information sharing and ecommerce.

Most extranets use the Internet as the entry point for outsiders, a firewall configuration to limit access, and a secure protocol for authenticating users.

Related Resources:

Extranet Resources
Find out how to build and manage an extranet, see examples of succesful extranets in case studies, and discover the past and future of extranet networks.

Intranet Resources
Learn about building an intranet, content management, knowledge management, and hosting/outsourcing possibilities.

intranet

Definition: Intranet is the generic term for a collection of private computer networks within an organization. An intranet uses network technologies as a tool to facilitate communication between people or workgroups to improve the data sharing capability and overall knowledge base of an organization's employees.

Intranets utilize standard network hardware and software technologies like Ethernet, WiFi, TCP/IP, Web browsers and Web servers. An organization's intranet typically includes Internet access but is firewalled so that its computers cannot be reached directly from the outside.

A common extension to intranets, called extranets, opens this firewall to provide controlled access to outsiders.

Many schools and non-profit groups have deployed them, but an intranet is still seen primarily as a corporate productivity tool. A simple intranet consists of an internal email system and perhaps a message board service. More sophisticated intranets include Web sites and databases containing company news, forms, and personnel information. Besides email and groupware applications, an intranet generally incorporates internal Web sites, documents, and/or databases.

The business value of intranet solutions is generally accepted in larger corporations, but their worth has proven very difficult to quantify in terms of time saved or return on investment.

Also Known As: corporate portal, private business network

TCP/IP - Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol

Definition: Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and Internet Protocol (IP) are two distinct network protocols, technically speaking. TCP and IP are so commonly used together, however, that TCP/IP has become standard terminology to refer to either or both of the protocols.

IP corresponds to the Network layer (Layer 3) in the OSI model, whereas TCP corresponds to the Transport layer (Layer 4) in OSI. In other words, the term TCP/IP refers to network communications where the TCP transport is used to deliver data across IP networks.

The average person on the Internet works in a predominately TCP/IP environment. Web browsers, for example, use TCP/IP to communicate with Web servers.

Also Known As: Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol

OSI Model - Open Systems Interconnection model

Layers of the OSI Model

Definition: The OSI model defines internetworking in terms of a vertical stack of seven layers. The upper layers of the OSI model represent software that implements network services like encryption and connection management. The lower layers of the OSI model implement more primitive, hardware-oriented functions like routing, addressing, and flow control.

In the OSI model, data communication starts with the top layer at the sending side, travels down the OSI model stack to the bottom layer, then traveses the network connection to the bottom layer on the receiving side, and up its OSI model stack.

The OSI model was introduced in 1984. Although it was designed to be an abstract model, the OSI model remains a practical framework for today's key network technologies like Ethernet and protocols like IP.

Also Known As: Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) reference model, OSI seven layer model

Examples: Internet Protocol (IP) corresponds to the Network layer of the OSI model, layer three. TCP and UDP correspond to OSI model layer four, the Transport layer. Lower layers of the OSI model are represented by technologies like Ethernet. Higher layers of the OSI model are represented by application protocols like TCP and UDP.

IP - Internet Protocol

Definition: IP is the primary network protocol used on the Internet, developed in the 1970s. On the Internet and many other networks, IP is often used together with the Transport Control Protocol (TCP) and referred to interchangeably as TCP/IP.

IP supports unique addressing for computers on a network. Most networks use the IP version 4 (IPv4) standard that features IP addresses four bytes (32 bits) in length. The newer IP version 6 (IPv6) standard features addresses 16 bytes (128 bits) in length.

Data on an IP network is organized into [ipackets. Each IP packet includes both a header (that specifies source, destination, and other information about the data) and the message data itself.

IP functions at layer 3 of the OSI model. It can therefore run on top of different data link interfaces including Ethernet and Wi-Fi.

IP address

Definition: An IP address is a logical address for a network adapter. The IP address uniquely identifies computers on a TCP/IP network.

An IP address can be private - for use on a local area network (LAN) - or public - for use on the Internet or other wide area network (WAN). IP addresses can be determined statically (assigned to a computer by a system administrator) or dynamically (assigned by another device on the network on demand).

Two IP addressing standards are in use today. The IPv4 standard is most familar to people and supported everywhere on the Internet, but the newer IPv6 standard is planned to replace it and starting to be deployed.

IPv4 addresses consist of four bytes (32 bits). Each byte of an IP address is known as an octet. Octets can take any value between 0 and 255. Various conventions exist for the numbering and use of IP addresses.

Common IP (IPv4) Addresses -

Also Known As: IP number

VPN - Virtual Private Network

By Bradley Mitchell, About.com

Definition: A VPN utilizes public telecommunications networks to conduct private data communications. Most VPN implementations use the Internet as the public infrastructure and a variety of specialized protocols to support private communications through the Internet.

VPN follows a client and server approach. VPN clients authenticate users, encrypt data, and otherwise manage sessions with VPN servers utilizing a technique called tunneling.

VPN clients and VPN servers are typically used in these three scenarios:

1. to support remote access to an intranet,
2. to support connections between multiple intranets within the same organization, and
3. to join networks between two organizations, forming an extranet.

The main benefit of a VPN is the lower cost needed to support this technology compared to alternatives like traditional leased lines or remote access servers.

VPN users typically interact with simple graphical client programs. These applications support creating tunnels, setting configuration parameters, and connecting to and disconnecting from the VPN server. VPN solutions utilize several different network protocols including PPTP, L2TP, IPsec, and SOCKS.

VPN servers can also connect directly to other VPN servers. A VPN server-to-server connection extends the intranet or extranet to span multiple networks.

Many vendors have developed VPN hardware and software products. Some of these do not interoperate due to the immaturity of some VPN standards.

Also Known As: virtual private network

protocol (network)

Definition: A network protocol defines rules and conventions for communication between network devices. Protocols for computer networking all generally use packet switching techniques to send and receive messages in the form of packets.

Network protocols include mechanisms for devices to identify and make connections with each other, as well as formatting rules that specify how data is packaged into messages sent and received. Some protocols also support message acknowledgement and data compression designed for reliable and/or high-performance network communication. Hundreds of different computer network protocols have been developed each designed for specific purposes and environments.

Internet Protocols

The Internet Protocol family contains a set of related (and among the most widely used network protocols. Besides Internet Protocol (IP) itself, higher-level protocols like TCP, UDP, HTTP, and FTP all integrate with IP to provide additional capabilities. Similarly, lower-level Internet Protocols like ARP and ICMP also co-exist with IP. These higher level protocols interact more closely with applications like Web browsers while lower-level protocols interact with network adapters and other computer hardware.

Routing Protocols

Routing protocols are special-purpose protocols designed specifically for use by network routers on the Internet. Common routing protocols include EIGRP, OSPF and BGP.

How Network Protocols Are Implemented

Modern operating systems like Microsoft Windows contain built-in services or daemons that implement support for some network protocols. Applications like Web browsers contain software libraries that support the high level protocols necessary for that application to function. For some lower level TCP/IP and routing protocols, support is implemented in directly hardware (silicon chipsets) for improved performance.

HTTP

Definition: HTTP - the Hypertext Transfer Protocol - provides a standard for Web browsers and servers to communicate. The definition of HTTP is a technical specification of a network protocol that software must implement.

HTTP is an application layer network protocol built on top of TCP. HTTP clients (such as Web browsers) and servers communicate via HTTP request and response messages. The three main HTTP message types are GET, POST, and HEAD.

HTTP utilizes TCP port 80 by default, though other ports such as 8080 can alternatively be used.

The current version of HTTP in widespread use - HTTP version 1.1 - was developed to address some of the performance limitations of the original version - HTTP 1.0. HTTP 1.1 is documented in RFC 2068.

Also Known As: HyperText Transfer Protocol

FTP - What Does FTP Stand For?

Definition: FTP allows you to transfer files between two computers on the Internet. FTP is a simple network protocol based on Internet Protocol and also a term used when referring to the process of copying files when using FTP technology.

To transfer files with FTP, you use a program often called the "client." The FTP client program initiates a connection to a remote computer running FTP "server" software. After the connection is established, the client can choose to send and/or receive copies of files, singly or in groups. To connect to an FTP server, a client requires a username and password as set by the administrator of the server. Many public FTP archives follow a special convention for that accepts a username of "anonymous."

Simple FTP clients are included with most network operating systems, but most of these clients (such as FTP.EXE on Windows) support a relatively unfriendly command-line interface. Many alternative freeware / shareware third-party FTP clients have been developed that support graphic user interfaces (GUIs) and additional convenience features. In any FTP interface, clients identify the FTP server either by its IP address (such as 192.168.0.1) or by its host name (such as ftp.about.com).

FTP supports two modes of data transfer: plain text (ASCII), and binary. You set the mode in the FTP client. A common error when using FTP is attempting to transfer a binary file (such as a program or music file) while in text mode, causing the transfered file to be unusable.

Also Known As: File Transfer Protocol

UDP

Definition: UDP is a lightweight transport built on top of IP. UDP squeezes extra performance from IP by not implementing some of the features a more heavyweight protocol like TCP offers. Specifically, UDP allows individual packets to be dropped (with no retries) and UDP packets to be received in a different order than they were sent.

UDP is often used in videoconferencing applications or games where optimal performance is preferred over guaranteed message delivery. UDP is one of the oldest network protocols, introduced in 1980 in RFC document 768.

Also Known As: User Datagram Protocol

Related Resources:

UDP - Introduction to User Datagram Protocol
This article explains UDP, describing its place in the OSI model and the use of headers, port numbers, payloads, and checksums in UDP. The article also compares UDP with TCP.

ARP - Address Resolution Protocol

Definition: ARP converts an Internet Protocol (IP) address to its corresponding physical network address. ARP is a low-level network protocol, operating at Layer 2 of the OSI model.

ARP usually is implemented in the device drivers of network operating systems. It is most commonly seen on Ethernet networks, but ARP has also been implemented for ATM, Token Ring, and other physical networks. RFC 826 documented the initial design and implementation of ARP.

ARP works on Ethernet networks as follows. Ethernet network adapters are produced with a physical address embedded in the hardware called the Media Access Control (MAC) address. Manufacturers take care to ensure these 6-byte (48-bit) addresses are unique, and Ethernet relies on these unique identifiers for message delivery. When any device wishes to send data to another target device over Ethernet, it must first determine the MAC address of that target given its IP address These IP-to-MAC address mappings are derived from an ARP cache maintained on each device. If the given IP address does not appear in a device's cache, that device cannot direct messages to that target until it obtains a new mapping. To do this, the initiating device first sends an ARP request broadcast message on the local subnet. The host with the given IP address sends an ARP reply in response to the broadcat, allowing the initiating device to update its cache and proceed to deliver messages directly to the target.

Also Known As: Address Resolution Protocol

MAC - Media Access Control and Address

Definition: MAC technology provides unique identification and access control for computers on an Internet Protocol (IP) network. In wireless networking, MAC is the radio control protocol on the wireless network adapter. MAC works at the lower sublayer of the data link layer (Layer 2) of the OSI model.

MAC assigns a unique number to each IP network adapter called the MAC address. A MAC address is 48 bits long. The MAC address is commonly written as a sequence of 12 hexadecimal digits as follows:

48-3F-0A-91-00-BC

MAC addresses are uniquely set by the network adapter manufacturer and are sometimes called "physical addresses" for this reason. The first six hexadecimal digits of the address correspond to a manufacturer's unique identifier, while the last six digits correspond to the device's serial number. MAC addresses map to logical IP addresses through the Address Resolution Protocol (ARP).

Some Internet service providers track the MAC address of a home router for security purposes. Many routers support a process called cloning that allows the MAC address to be simulated so that it matches one the service provider is expecting. This allows households to change their router (and their real MAC address) without having to notify the provider.

Also Known As: Media Access Control

adapter

Definition: A network adapter interfaces a computer to a network. The term "adapter" was popularized originally by Ethernet add-in cards for PCs.

Modern network adapter hardware exists in several forms. Besides traditional PCI Ethernet cards, some network adapters are PCMCIA devices (also know as "credit card" or "PC Card" adapters) or USB devices. Some wireless network adapter gear for laptop computers are integrated circuit chips pre-installed inside the computer.

Windows and other operating systems support both wired and wireless network adapters through a piece of software called a "device driver." Network drivers allow application software to communicate with the adapter hardware. Network device drivers are often installed automatically when adapter hardware is first powered on.

A few network adapters are purely software packages that simulate the functions of a network card. These so-called virtual adapters are especially common in virtual private networking (VPN).

Also Known As: NIC, LAN card

subnet

Definition: A subnet is a logical grouping of connected network devices. Nodes on a subnet tend to be located in close physical proximity to each other on a LAN.

Network designers employ subnets as a way to partition networks into logical segments for greater ease of administration. When subnets are properly implemented, both the performance and security of networks can be improved.

In IP networking, devices on a subnet share contiguous ranges of IP address numbers. A mask (known as the subnet mask or network mask) defines the boundaries of an IP subnet. The correspondence between subnet masks and IP address ranges follows defined mathematical formulas. IT professionals use subnet calculators to map between masks and addresses.

Also Known As: subnetwork

router

Definition: Routers are physical devices that join multiple wired or wireless networks together. Technically, a wired or wireless router is a Layer 3 gateway, meaning that the wired/wireless router connects networks (as gateways do), and that the router operates at the network layer of the OSI model.

Home networkers often use an Internet Protocol (IP) wired or wireless router, IP being the most common OSI network layer protocol. An IP router such as a DSL or cable modem broadband router joins the home's local area network (LAN) to the wide-area network (WAN) of the Internet.

By maintaining configuration information in a piece of storage called the "routing table," wired or wireless routers also have the ability to filter traffic, either incoming or outgoing, based on the IP addresses of senders and receivers. Some routers allow the home networker to update the routing table from a Web browser interface. Broadband routers combine the functions of a router with those of a network switch and a firewall in a single unit.

See also > broadband routers

broadband router

Definition: A broadband router combines the features of a traditional network switch, a firewall, and a DHCP server. Broadband routers are designed for convenience in setting up home networks, particularly for homes with high-speed cable modem or DSL Internet service. A broadband router supports file sharing, Internet connection sharing, and home LAN gaming.

A broadband router follow the Ethernet standard for home networking. Traditional broadband routers required Ethernet cables be run between the router, the broadband modem, and each computer on the home LAN. The newer wireless routers also support broadband Internet access and the Ethernet standard without the need for cabling.

Several manufacturers offer broadband router products to the consumer. Features that differentiate broadband router products include the number and type of ports available on the unit for cabling computers, external modems, or other network devices.

Also Known As: residential gateway, home gateway

Networking With A Router

Using a router on broadband and/or wireless home networks

A network router is a small electronic device that allows you build a home network simply. The home router serves as the core or "centerpiece" of the network to which computers, printers and other devices can be connected. Networking with a router helps you to (for example):

share files between computers
share an Internet connection between computers
share a printer
connect your game console or other home entertainment equipment to the Internet

Routers are not necessarily required to build a network. For example, you can connect two computers directly to each other with just a cable (or without wires in some cases). Home routers offer convenience and easier maintenance as your network grows.

Related - Connecting Two Home Computers

Choosing a Network Router

You can choose from among several different types of home network router products. The two most common types in popular usage are the 802.11b and 802.11g WiFi models. 802.11g is the newer technology, but 802.11b routers often can do the job for an even lower cost.

Installing a Network Router

Network routers receive their power from an ordinary home electrical socket. When powered on, lights (LEDs) signify the unit is operating.

Network routers must be carefully configured when they are first installed. Like computers and other devices on the home network, routers must be set up with IP addresses. Routers also offer optional (but strongly recommended) security features.

Routers contain built-in software to enable setup. You access this software through your Web browser on any computer connected to the router.

More - How To Set Up a Router

Next > Connecting Devices to A Router

DHCP - Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol

Definition: DHCP allows a computer to join an IP-based network without having a pre-configured IP address. DHCP is a protocol that assigns unique IP addresses to devices, then releases and renews these addresses as devices leave and re-join the network.

Internet Service Providers (ISPs) usually use DHCP to allow customers to join the Internet with minimum effort. Likewise, home network equipment like broadband routers offers DHCP support for added convenience in joining home computers to the LAN.

DHCP environments require a DHCP server set up with the appropriate configuration parameters for the given network. Key DHCP parameters include the range or "pool" of available IP addresses, the correct subnet masks, plus gateway and name server addresses.

Devices running DHCP client software can then automatically retrieve these settings from DHCP servers as needed. Using DHCP on a network means system administrators do not need to configure these parameters individually for each client device.

Also Known As: Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol

gateway

Definition: A network gateway is an internetworking system capable of joining together two networks that use different base protocols. A network gateway can be implemented completely in software, completely in hardware, or as a combination of both. Depending on the types of protocols they support, network gateways can operate at any level of the OSI model.

Because a network gateway, by definition, appears at the edge of a network, related capabilities like firewalls tend to be integrated with it. On home networks, a broadband router typically serves as the network gateway although ordinary computers can also be configured to perform equivalent functions.

See also - What Is a Default Gateway?

How To Set Up a Network Router

This guide explains how to set up a router for home computer networks. The exact names of configuration settings on a network router vary depending on the model and whether it is wired or wireless. However, this general procedure will guide you through the process for the common kinds of home network equipment.

Difficulty: Average

Time Required: 1 hour

Here's How:

Choose a convenient location to begin installing your router such as an open floor space or table. This does not need to be the permanent location of the device. Particularly for wireless routers, you may find it necessary to re-position the unit after installing it as the cables / signals may not reach all areas needed. At the beginning, its better to choose a location where it's easiest to work with the router and worry about final placement later.
Plug in the router's electrical power source, then turn on the router by pushing the power button.
(Optional) Connect your Internet modem to the router. Most network modems connect via an Ethernet cable but USB connections are becoming increasingly common. The cable plugs into the router jack named "WAN" or "uplink" or "Internet." After connecting the cable, be sure to power cycle (turn off and turn back on) the modem to ensure the router recognizes it.
Connect one computer to the router. Even if the router is a wireless model, connect this first computer to the router via a network cable. Using a cable during router installation ensures the maximum reliability of the equipment. Once a wireless router installation is complete, the computer can be changed over to a wireless connection if desired.
Open the router's administration tool. From the computer connected to the router, first open your Web browser. Then enter the router's address for network administration in the Web address field and hit return to reach the router's home page.

Many routers are reached by either the Web address "http://192.168.1.1" or "http://192.168.0.1" Consult your router's documentation to determine the exact address for your model. Note that you do not need a working Internet connection for this step.
Log in to the router. The router's home page will ask you for a username and password. Both are provided in the router's documentation. You should change the router's password for security reasons, but do this after the installation is complete to avoid unnecessary complications during the basic setup.
If you want your router to connect to the Internet, you must enter Internet connection information into that section of the router's configuration (exact location varies). If using DSL Internet, you may need to enter the PPPoE username and password. Likewise, if you have been issued a static IP address by your provider (you would need to have requested it), the static IP fields (including network mask and gateway) given to you by the provider must also must be set in the router.
If you were using a primary computer or an older network router to connect to the Internet, your provider may require you to update the MAC address of the router with the MAC address of the device you were using previously. Read How to Change a MAC Address for a detailed description of this process.
If this is a wireless router, change the network name (often called SSID). While the router comes to you with a network name set at the factory, you will never want to use this name on your network. Read How to Change the Router SSID for detailed instructions.
Verify the network connection is working between your one computer and the router. To do this, you must confirmed that the computer has received IP address information from the router. See How to Find IP Addresses for a description of this process.
(If applicable) Verify your one computer can connect to the Internet properly. Open your Web browser and visit a few Internet sites such as http://compnetworking.about.com/.
Connect additional computers to the router as needed. If connecting wirelessly, ensure the network name (SSID) of each is computer matches that of the router.
Finally, configure additional network security features as desired to guard your systems against Internet attackers. These WiFi Home Network Security Tips offer a good checklist to follow.

Tips:

When connecting devices with network cables, be sure each end of the cable connects tightly. Loose cables are one of the most common sources of network setup problems.

What You Need:

A network router (wireless or wired)
Network adapters installed on all devices to be connected to the router
A working Internet modem (optional)
A Web browser installed at least one computer in the network

What Is a Default Gateway?

Question: What Is a Default Gateway?

You will sometimes see the term default gateway on network configuration screens in Microsoft Windows.

Answer: In computer networking, a default gateway is the device that passes traffic from the local subnet to devices on other subnets. The default gateway often connects a local network to the Internet, although internal gateways for local networks also exist.

Internet default gateways are typically one of two types:

On home or small business networks with a broadband router to share the Internet connection, the home router serves as the default gateway.
On home or small business networks without a router, such as for residences with dialup Internet access, a router at the Internet Service Provider location serves as the default gateway.

Default network gateways can also be configured using an ordinary computer instead of a router. These gateways use two network adapters, one connected to the local subnet and one to the outside network. Either routers or gateway computers can be used to network local subnets such as those in larger businesses.

In Microsoft Windows, the IP address of a computer's default gateway can be accessed in the 'ipconfig' or 'winipcfg' utilities (see sidebar).

PCMCIA - Personal Computer Memory Card International Association

Definition: PCMCIA is an industry organization best know for developing a standard network adapter using the PC Card form factor. The PC Card form factor was designed for thinness, and PCMCIA is therefore especially well suited for notebook computers. Most notebooks contain two PCMCIA slots that hold one or two of these cards.

PC Cards come in three types. All PC Cards have the same width and length - 54.0 millimeters wide and 85.6 millmeters long - but vary in thickness:

• Type 1 - 3.3 millimeters thick
• Type 2 - 5.0 millimeters thick
• Type 3 - 10.5 millimeters thick

Ethernet PCMCIA network adapters were originally all Type 2 PC Cards. These cards feature a dual-speed or Fast Ethernet jack and sometimes a second jack for an onboard dial-up modem. Type 1 PC Cards cards generally contain computer memory and Type 3 cards generally contain disk storage.

Type 2 PC Cards are too thin to fit a full-sized Ethernet (RJ-45) jack and/or a full-sized phone (RJ-11) jack. Instead, Type 2 Ethernet PCMCIA cards require proprietary jacks and short external cables called dongles that interface a proprietary jack to a standard one.

However, an increasing number of PCMCIA Ethernet adapters are now being built using the Type 3 form factor. Being twice as thick as Type 2 adapters, Type 3 adapters work without dongles because they fit a full-sized Ethernet (RJ-45) jack and/or a full-sized phone (RJ-11) jack. One Type 3 ("double high") adapter fills both PCMCIA slots in a notebook computer.

Also Known As: PC Card; Personal Computer Memory Card International Association; People Can't Memorize Computer Industry Acronyms

dongle

Definition: In computer networking, a dongle is a short network cable that joins a PCMCIA adapter to a network cable. Dongles typically attach to either a RJ-45 connector for Ethernet networking or an RJ-11 connector for dial-up networking. Dongles tend to run no longer than about six inches.

The term "dongle" also has become popular in USB networking, referring to the USB cable that extends from a USB peripheral.

The term "dongle" has an older, much less common in non-network computing, pertaining to software security.

Pronunciation: DONG-ul

firewall

Definition: A network firewall protects a computer network from unauthorized access. Network firewalls may be hardware devices, software programs, or a combination of the two.

Network firewalls guard an internal computer network (home, school, business intranet) against malicious access from the outside. Network firewalls may also be configured to limit access to the outside from internal users.

Network Firewalls and Broadband Routers

Many home network router products include built-in firewall support. The administrative interface of these routers include configuration options for the firewall. Router firewalls can be turned off (disabled), or they can be set to filter certain types of network traffic through so-called firewall rules.

Network Firewalls and Proxy Servers

Another common form of network firewall is a proxy server. Proxy servers act as an intermediary between internal computers and external networks by receiving and selectively blocking data packets at the network boundary. These network firewalls also provide an extra measure of safety by hiding internal LAN addresses from the outside Internet. In a proxy server firewall environment, network requests from multiple clients appear to the outsider as all coming from the same proxy server address.

Also Known As: proxy, gateway

ICMP

Definition: ICMP is a network protocol useful in Internet Protocol (IP) network management and administration. ICMP is a required element of IP implementations. ICMP is a control protocol, meaning that it does not carry application data, but rather information about the status of the network itself. ICMP can be used to report:

errors in the underlying communications of network applications
availability of remote hosts
network congestion

Perhaps the best known example of ICMP in practice is the ping utility, that uses ICMP to probe remote hosts for responsiveness and overall round-trip time of the probe messages. ICMP also supports traceroute, that can identify intermediate "hops" between a given source and destination.

Also Known As: Internet Control Message Protocol

Ping

Definition: Ping is the name of a standard network utility packaged with popular network operating systems. The utility can be used to determine if a remote device (such as Web or game server) can be reached on the network and, if so, roughly how fast the current connection is.

Traditional pings are implemented with the Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP), although it is possible to achieve a similar effect with UDP or other protocols. Ping utilities send requests to the designated computer at periodic intervals and measure the time it takes for a respone packet to arrive. A number of popular "ping tools" that add features to the operating system commands are available on the Net today. By manipulating the contents of ICMP packets, hackers have also used ping utilties to take down servers in the so-called "Ping of Death" attack.

Also Known As: Packet Internet Gopher

network address

Definition: A network address serves as a unique identifier for a computer on a network. When set up correctly, computers can determine the addresses of other computers on the network and use these addresses to send messages to each other.

One of the best known form of network addressing is the Internet Protocol (IP) address. IP addresses consist of four bytes (32 bits) that uniquely identify all computers on the public Internet.

Another popular form of address is the Media Access Control (MAC) address. MAC addresses are six bytes (48 bits) that manufacturers of network adapters burn into their products to uniquely identify them.

bit

Definition: A bit is the smallest unit of data transfer on a computer network. Bits represent the two binary values "on" or "off." Bits are often stored on computers as the digital numbers '1' and '0', but in networking, bits can also be "encoded" by electrical signals and pulses of light.

In computer networking, some network protocols send and receive data in the form of bit sequences. These are called bit-oriented protocols. Examples of bit-oriented protocols include PPP.

Though sometimes written in decimal or byte form, network addresses like IP addresses and MAC addresses are ultimately represented as bits in network communications.

Finally, special digital numbers called "keys" are often used to encrypt data on computer networks. The length of these keys is expressed in terms of number of bits. The greater the number of bits, the relatively more effective that key is in protecting data. In wireless network security, for example, 40-bit WEP keys proved to be relatively insecure but the 128-bit or larger WEP keys used today are much more effective.

Also Known As: binary digit

WEP - Wired Equivalent Privacy

Definition: WEP is a protocol that adds security to wireless local area networks (WLANs) based on the 802.11 Wi-Fi standard. WEP is an OSI Data Link layer (Layer 2) security technology that can be turned "on" or "off." WEP was designed to give wireless networks the equivalent level of privacy protection as a comparable wired network.

WEP is based on a security scheme called RC4 that utilizes a combination of secret user keys and system-generated values. The original implementations of WEP supported so-called 40-bit encryption, having a key of length 40 bits and 24 additional bits of system-generated data (64 bits total). Research has shown that 40-bit WEP encryption is too easy to decode, and consequently product vendors today employ 128-bit encryption (having a key length of 104 bits, not 128 bits) or better (including 152-bit and 256-bit WEP systems).

When communicating over the wire, wireless network equipment uses WEP keys to encrypt the data stream. The keys themselves are not sent over the network but rather are generally stored on the wireless adapter or in the Windows Registry.

Regardless of how it is implemented on a wireless LAN, WEP represents just one element of an overall WLAN security strategy.

Also Known As: Wired Equivalent Privacy

Wi-Fi - Wireless Fidelity

Definition: Wi-Fi is the industry name for wireless LAN (WLAN) communication technology related to the IEEE 802.11 family of wireless networking standards. To some, the term Wi-Fi is synonymous with 802.11b, as 802.11b was the first standard in that family to enjoy widespread popularity. Today, however, Wi-Fi can refer to any of the established standards: 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g and 802.11n.

The Wi-Fi Alliance (see sidebar) certifies vendor products to ensure 802.11 products on the market follow the various 802.11 specifications. Unfortunately, 802.11a is not compatible with 802.11b/g, so the Wi-Fi market remains somewhat fragmented.

Also Known As: wireless fidelity

WLAN

Definition: WLANs provide wireless network communication over short distances using radio or infrared signals instead of traditional network cabling.

A WLAN typically extends an existing wired local area network. WLANs are built by attaching a device called the access point (AP) to the edge of the wired network. Clients communicate with the AP using a wireless network adapter similar in function to a traditional Ethernet adapter.

Network security remains an important issue for WLANs. Random wireless clients must usually be prohibited from joining the WLAN. Technologies like WEP raise the level of security on wireless networks to rival that of traditional wired networks.

Also Known As: wireless LAN

Examples: For WLANs that connect to the Internet, Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) technology allows Web content to be more easily downloaded to a WLAN and rendered on wireless clients like cell phones and PDAs.

server

Definition: A network server is a computer designed to process requests and deliver data to other (client) computers over a local network or the Internet.

Network servers typically are configured with additional processing, memory and storage capacity to handle the load of servicing clients. Common types of network servers include:

Web servers
proxy servers
FTP servers
online game servers

Numerous systems use this client / server networking model including Web sites and email services. An alternative model, peer-to-peer networking enables all computers to act as either a server or client as needed.

Apache

Definition: Apache is generally recognized as the world's most popular Web server (HTTP server). Originally designed for Unix servers, the Apache Web server has been ported to Windows and other network operating systems (NOS). The name "Apache" derives from the word "patchy" that the Apache developers used to describe early versions of their software.

The Apache Web server provides a full range of Web server features, including CGI, SSL, and virtual domains. Apache also supports plug-in modules for extensibility. Apache is reliable, free, and relatively easy to configure.

Apache is free software distributed by the Apache Software Foundation. The Apache Software Foundation promotes various free and open source advanced Web technologies

NOS - Network Operating System

Definition: A NOS is a network operating system. A network operating system implements protocol stacks as well as device drivers for networking hardware. Some network operating systems, like Windows 98 Second Edition, also add custom networking features like Internet Connection Sharing (ICS).

Network operating systems have existed for more than thirty years. The UNIX® operating system was designed from the beginning to support networking. In its early forms, Windows did not support networking, so Novell NetWare became the first popular network operating system for the personal computer (Windows 95 and Windows for Workgroups were Microsoft's first network operating system products). Today, nearly any consumer operating system qualifies as a NOS due to the popularity of the Internet and the obvious need to support Internet Protocol (IP) networking at a minimum.

Also Known As: network operating system

Web Servers

Web server applications provide network access to Web pages and other intranet and Internet content.

Microsoft Internet Infor...

Apache Web Server
Apache consistently rates as the world's most popular Web server. It is full-featured, reliable, and free.

Crash

Definition: The term "crash" refers to a critical failure in a computer, network device, or software running on these (such as a network operating system or application). Crashes often occur with little or no warning. As evidenced by the number of different synonyms employed over the years, crashes have a long and colorful history in computer networking.

A crash can manifest itself in many different ways. The computer may "freeze" or "hang" indefinitely when a crash occurs, or it may display any number of obscure error messages. In Windows operating systems, a crash usually causes the infamous "blue screen of death" to appear. To recover from a crash, often a person must power down and restart their computer (as in the case of blue screens) or their network device(s).

Also Known As: crash and burn, fatal error, bomb, blow-up, core dump, blue screen of death (BSOD), ABEND

MTU

Definition: The MTU is the maximum size of a single data unit (e.g., a frame) of digital communications. MTU sizes are inherent properties of physical network interfaces, normally measured in bytes. The MTU for Ethernet, for instance, is 1500 bytes. Some types of networks (like Token Ring) have larger MTUs, and some types have smaller MTUs, but the values are fixed for each physical technology.

Higher-level network protocols like TCP/IP can be configured with a maximum packet size, a parameter independent of the physical layer MTU over which TCP/IP runs. Unfortunately, many network devices use the terms interchangeably. On both home broadband routers and Xbox Live enabled game consoles, for example, the parameter called MTU is in fact the maximum TCP packet size and not the physical MTU.

In Microsoft Windows, the maximum packet size for protocols like TCP can be set in the Registry. If this value is set too low, streams of network traffic will be broken up into a relatively large number of small packets that adversely affects performance. Xbox Live, for example, requires the value of MTU (packet size) by at least 1365 bytes. If the maximum TCP packet size is set too high, it will exceed the network's physical MTU and also degrade performance by requiring that each packet be subdivided into smaller ones (a process known as fragmentation). Microsoft Windows computers default to a maximum packet size of 1500 bytes for broadband connections and 576 bytes for dialup connections.

Performance problems may also occur if the TCP "MTU" setting on the home broadband router differs from the setting on individual devices connected to it.

Also Known As: Maximum Transmission Unit

byte

Definition: A byte is a sequence of bits. In computer networking, some network protocols send and receive data in the form of byte sequences. These are called byte-oriented protocols. Examples of byte-oriented protocols include TCP/IP and telnet.

The order in which bytes are sequenced in a byte-oriented network protocol is called the network byte order. The maximum size of a single unit of transmission for these protocols, the Maximum Transmission Unit (MTU), is also measured in bytes. Network programmers routinely work both with network byte ordering and MTUs.

Bytes are used not only in networking, but also for computer disks, memory, and central processing units (CPUs). In all modern network protocols, a byte contains eight bits. A few (generally obsolete) computers may use bytes of different sizes for other purposes.

The sequence of bytes in other parts of the computer may not follow the network byte order. Part of the job of the networking subsystem of a computer is to convert between the host byte order and network byte order when needed.

ISP - Internet Service Providers

Definition: An ISP is a company that supplies Internet connectivity to home and business customers. ISPs support one or more forms of Internet access, ranging from traditional modem dial-up to DSL and cable modem broadband service to dedicated T1/T3 lines.

More recently, wireless Internet service providers or WISPs have emerged that offer Internet access through wireless LAN or wireless broadband networks.

In addition to basic connectivity, many ISPs also offer related Internet services like email, Web hosting and access to software tools.

A few companies also offer free ISP service to those who need occasional Internet connectivity. These free offerings feature limited connect time and are often bundled with some other product or service.

modem

Definition: Traditional modems used in dial-up networking convert data between the analog form used on telephone lines and the digital form used on computers. Standard dial-up network modems transmit data at a maximum rate of 56,000 bits per second (56 Kbps). However, inherent limitations of the public telephone network limit modem speeds to 33.6 Kbps or lower in practice.

Broadband modems that are part of cable and DSL Internet service use more advanced signaling techniques to achieve dramatically higher network speeds than traditional modems. Broadband modems are sometimes called "digital modems" and those used for traditional dial-up networking, "analog modems." Cellular modems that establish Internet connectivity through a digital cell phone also exist.

Also Known As: MODulator dEModulator

Kbps / kbps, Mbps, Gbps

Definition: One kilobit per second (Kbps) equals 1000 bits per second (bps). Kbps is also written as “kbps” that carries the same meaning. Likewise, one megabit per second (Mbps) equals one million bps and one Gigabit equals one billion bps.

Network performance is best measured in bps, but sometimes numbers are given in bytes per second (Bps). Then, one KBps equals one kilobyte per second, one MBps equals one megabyte per second, and GBps equals one gigabyte per second. Many times people write KBps, for example, when they mean Kbps, and it is important to be clear on this distinction.

Examples: V.90 modems support data rates up to 56 Kbps. Traditional Ethernet supports data rates up to 10 Mbps and Fast Ethernet 100 Mbps. Gigabit Ethernet supports 1000 Mbps or 1 Gbps.

Also Known As: Kb/sec, Kb/s, Mb/sec, Mb/s, Gb/sec, Gb/s

kilobyte, megabyte, gigabyte

Definition: A kilobyte equals 1024 (or 2¹⁰) bytes. Likewise, a megabyte (MB) equals 1024 KB or 2²⁰ bytes and a gigabyte (GB) equals 1024 MB or 2³⁰ bytes.

The meaning of the words kilobyte, megabyte, and gigabyte change when they are used in the context of network data rates. A rate of one kilobyte per second (KBps) equals 1000 (not 1024) bytes per second. One megabyte per second (MBps) equals one million (10⁶, not 2²⁰) bytes per second. One gigabyte per second (GBps) equals one billion (10⁹, not 2³⁰) bytes per second.

To avoid some of this confusion, networkers typically measure data rates in bits per second (bps) rather than bytes per second (Bps) and use the terms kilobyte, megabyte, and gigabyte only when referring to disk space.

Examples: "This eight gigabyte disk only has 200 megabytes of free space left."

Also Known As: K, KB, M, MB, "meg," G, GB, "gig"

baud

Definition: A baud is a unit of measure for analog signaling. At a minimum, one baud corresponds to one bit per second (bps) although at higher signaling speeds, multiple bits can be transfered in a single baud.

The term baud was popular in the early days of modems, but it is no longer relevant in mainstream computer networking terminology.

bps / Bps

Definition: Network performance has traditionally been measured in units of bits per second (bps). Not too many years ago, dialup network connections routinely performed at 9600 bps. As networks have greatly improved in performance, rates are now specified in Kbps (thousands of bps) or Mbps (millions of bps).

Bps (with uppercase 'B') represents bytes per second. Use of Bps, KBps, or MBps is avoided in networking as computer architectures implement a byte with differing numbers of bits; some use four bits, most use eight bits, and a few use neither.

Because eight-bit byte architectures dominate today, converting from Bps to bps involves only multiplying by eight. However, it's too easy to confuse the two acronyms and best to use 'bps' consistently.

Also Known As: bits per second, bits/sec, bits/s; bytes per second, bytes/sec, bytes/s

IPv6

Definition: IPv6 is the next generation protocol for Internet networking. IPv6 expands on the current Internet Protocol standard known as IPv4. Compared to IPv4, IPv6 offers better addressing, security and other features to support large worldwide networks.

In IPv6, IP addresses change from the current 32-bit standard and dotted decimal notation to a new 128-bit address system. IPv6 addresses remain backward compatible with IPv4 addresses. For example, the IPv4 address "192.168.100.32" may appear in IPv6 notation as "0000:0000:0000:0000:0000:0000:C0A8:6420" or "::C0A8:6420".

The most obvious benefit of IPv6 is the exponentially greater number of IP addresses it can support compared to IPv4. Many countries outside the U.S. suffer from a shortage of IP addresses today. Because IPv6 and IPv4 protocols coexist, those locales with an address shortage can easily deploy new IPv6 networks that work with the rest of the Internet. Experts believe it will take many more years before all networks fully change over to IPv6.

Other benefits of IPv6 are less obvious but equally important. The internals of the IPv6 protocol have been designed with scalability and extensibility in mind. This will allow many different kinds of devices besides PCs, like cell phones and home appliances, to more easily join the Internet in future.

Also Known As: IPng (Internet Protocol Next Generation)

port number

Definition: A port number represents an endpoint or "channel" for network communications. Port numbers allow different applications on the same computer to utilize network resources without interfering with each other.

Port numbers most commonly appear in network programming, particularly socket programming. Sometimes, though, port numbers are made visible to the casual user. For example, some Web sites a person visits on the Internet use a URL like the following:

http://www.mairie-metz.fr:8080/

In this example, the number 8080 refers to the port number used by the Web browser to connect to the Web server. Normally, a Web site uses port number 80 and this number need not be included with the URL (although it can be).

In IP networking, port numbers can theoretically range from 0 to 65535. Most popular network applications, though, use port numbers at the low end of the range (such as 80 for HTTP). The port number is included as a field within the header of each IP packet.

Note: The term port also refers to several other aspects of network technology. A port can refer to a physical connection point for peripheral devices such as serial, parallel, and USB ports. The term port also refers to certain Ethernet connection points, such as those on a hub, switch, or router.

Also Known As: port number, protocol number

RPC - Remote Procedure Call

Definition: RPC is a network programming model for point-to-point communication within or between software applications.

In RPC, the sender makes a request in the form of a procedure, function, or method call. RPC translates these calls into requests sent over the network to the intended destination. The RPC recipient then processes the request based on the procedure name and argument list, sending a response to the sender when complete. RPC applications generally implement software modules called "proxies" and "stubs" that broker the remote calls and make them appear to the programmer the same as local procedure calls (LPC).

RPC calling applications usually operate synchronously, waiting for the remote procedure to return a result. RPC incorporates timeout logic to handle network failures or other situations where RPCs do not return.

RPC has been a common programming technique in the Unix world since the 1990s. The Open Systems Foundation (OSF) Distributed Computing Environment (DCE) and Sun Microsystems Open Network Computing (ONC) libraries both were widely deployed. More recent examples of RPC technologies include Microsoft DCOM, Java RMI, and XML-RPC and SOAP.

URL

Definition: A URL is a specially-formatted text string that defines a location on the Internet. URL strings contain three parts or substrings:

1. network protocol
2. host name or address
3. file location

The network protocol substring determines the underlying Internet protocol to be used in reaching the location. These strings consist of a standard protocol name followed by the :// characters. Typical protocols found in URLs include http://, ftp://, and mailto://.

The host substring immediately follows the protocol defintion. Hosts may be defined by Internet-standard naming (DNS) or by IP address. For example, a URL of of http://compnetworking.about.com or, equivalently, http://209.143.212.20 contains the protocol and host information needed to access this Web site.

The file location portion of a URL defines the location of a network resource. Resources are files that can be plain text files, documents, graphics, or programs, and resource names are relative to a local root directory. Technically, a URL like http://compnetworking.about.com contains an implied file location of /, that Web servers like Apache automatically translate to a specific file name like index.htm. All other specific files exist in a hierarchy or directory tree underneath the root, such as the following:

RELATIVE FILE LOCATION
/library/glossary/blglossary.htm

COMPLETE URL
http://compnetworking.about.com/library/glossary/blglossary.htm

When creating HTML pages, the author can choose to use either the relative file locations or complete URLs. A user of the Internet generally works with complete URLs.

Also Known As: Uniform Resource Locator

DNS - Domain Name System

Definition: The DNS translates Internet domain and host names to IP addresses. DNS automatically converts the names we type in our Web browser address bar to the IP addresses of Web servers hosting those sites.

DNS implements a distributed database to store this name and address information for all public hosts on the Internet. DNS assumes IP addresses do not change (are statically assigned rather than dynamically assigned).

The DNS database resides on a hierarchy of special database servers. When clients like Web browsers issue requests involving Internet host names, a piece of software called the DNS resolver (usually built into the network operating system) first contacts a DNS server to determine the server's IP address. If the DNS server does not contain the needed mapping, it will in turn forward the request to a different DNS server at the next higher level in the hierarchy. After potentially several forwarding and delegation messages are sent within the DNS hierarchy, the IP address for the given host eventually arrives at the resolver, that in turn completes the request over Internet Protocol.

DNS additionally includes support for caching requests and for redundancy. Most network operating systems support configuration of primary, secondary, and tertiary DNS servers, each of which can service initial requests from clients. ISPs maintain their own DNS servers and use DHCP to automatically configure clients, relieving most home users of the burden of DNS configuration.

Also Known As: Domain Name System, Domain Name Service, Domain Name Server

XML-RPC

Definition: XML-RPC is a network programming technique for making remote procedure calls (RPC) to software running on remote devices. XML-RPC uses XML coding for calls and sends messages using the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP).

Developers commonly use XML-RPC to develop Web services. Reusable XML-RPC libraries are widely available for Windows, Java, modern scripting languages like Perl and Python, and other enviroments. Because XML-RPC uses HTTP, these XML-RPC libraries function in firewall or proxied environments.

XML-RPC serves a similar function to Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP), that supports remote object method invocations using XML over HTTP.

Alternate Spellings: xmlrpc

API - Application Programming Interface

Definition: An API allows computer programmers to access the functionality of pre-built software modules. An API defines data structures and subroutine calls. Networking APIs are entry points to libraries that implement network and data communication protocols.

Traditionally, the primary networking APIs have been implemented in socket libraries. Berkeley sockets and Windows Sockets (Winsock) APIs have seen widespread use for many years. More recently, Java network APIs such as servlets and Web APIs like XML-RPC have emerged as newer network programming standards.

Also Known As: Application Programming Interface

NetBIOS

Definition: NetBIOS is a software protocol for providing computer communication services on local networks. Microsoft Windows uses NetBIOS on Ethernet or Token Ring networks.

Software applications on a NetBIOS network locate each other via their NetBIOS names. A NetBIOS name is up to 16 characters long and in Windows, separate from the computer name. Applications on other computers access NetBIOS names over UDP port 137. The provides name resolution services for NetBIOS.

Two applications start a NetBIOS session when one (the client) sends a command to "Call" another (the server) over TCP port 139 on a remote computer. Both sides issue "Send" and "Receive" commands to deliver messages in both directions. The "Hang-Up" command terminates a NetBIOS session.

NetBIOS also supports connectionless communications via UDP datagrams. Applications listen on UDP port 138 to receive NetBIOS datagrams.

NetBIOS and NetBEUI are separate but related technologies. NetBEUI extends NetBIOS with additional networking capabilities.

Also Known As: Network Basic Input/Output System

WINS - Windows Internet Naming Service

Definition: The Windows Internet Naming Service (WINS) supports name resolution, the automated conversion of computer names to network addresses, for Windows networks. Specifically, WINS converts NetBIOS names to IP addresses on a LAN or WAN.

Like DNS, the Windows Internet Naming Service employs a distributed client/server system to maintain the mapping of computer names to addresses. Windows clients can be configured to use primary and secondary WINS servers that dynamically update name/address pairings as computers join and leave the network. The dynamic behavior of WINS means that it also supports networks using DHCP.

Also Known As: Windows Internet Naming Service

workgroup

Definition: In computer networking, a workgroup is a collection of computers on a local area network (LAN) that share common resources and responsibilities. Workgroups provide easy sharing of files, printers and other network resources. Being a peer-to-peer (P2P) network design, each workgroup computer may both share and access resources if configured to do so.

The Microsoft Windows family of operating systems supports assigning of computers to named workgroups. Macintosh networks offer a similiar capability through the use of AppleTalk zones. The Open Source software package Samba allows Unix and Linux systems to join existing Windows workgroups.

Workgroups are designed for small LANs in homes, schools, and small businesses. A Windows Workgroup, for example, functions best with 15 or fewer computers. As the number of computers in a workgroup grows, workgroup LANs eventually become too difficult to administer and should be replaced with alternative solutions like domains or other client/server approaches.

P2P

Definition: The term P2P refers to "peer-to-peer" networking. A peer-to-peer network allows computer hardware and software to function without the need for special server devices. P2P is an alternative to client-server network design.

P2P is a popular technology for file sharing software applications like Kazaa, WinMX and Overnet. P2P technology helps the P2P client applications upload and download files over the P2P network services.

P2P technology can also be found in other places. Microsoft Windows XP (starting with Service Pack 1), for example, contains a component called "Windows Peer-to-Peer Networking." P2P is especially popular in homes where an expensive, decidated server computer is neither necessary nor practical.

Finally, the P2P acronym has acquired a non-technical meaning as well. Some people have described this second meaning of "P2P" as "people-to-people." From this perspective, P2P is a model for developing software and growing businesses that help individuals on the Internet meet each other and share common interests. So-called social networking technology is an example of this concept.

SMB

Definition: SMB is a network file sharing protocol. Communication over SMB occurs mainly through a series of client requests and server responses. SMB client and server software exists within nearly all versions of Microsoft Windows. File sharing systems using SMB, such as LAN Manager for UNIX, have also been produced for many non-Windows operating environments

SMB runs at a higher level on top of other network protocols such as TCP/IP, NetBEUI, or IPX. A new version of SMB, Common Internet File System or CIFS, has been developed by Microsoft for "open" use on the Internet.

Also Known As: Server Message Block, Session Message Block, CIFS

Samba

Definition: Samba is a client/server system that implements network resource sharing for Linux and other UNIX computers. With Samba, UNIX files and printers can be shared with Windows clients and vice versa. Samba supports the Session Message Block (SMB) protocol. Nearly all Windows computers include SMB support with their internal network subsystems (NetBIOS in particular).

With an appropriately-configured Samba server on Linux, Windows clients can map drives to the Linux filesystems. Likewise, the Samba client on UNIX can connect to Windows shares by their UNC name. Although differences among various operating systems (such as filesystem naming conventions, end-of-line conventions, and authentication) can limit interoperability, Samba offers a generally serviceable mechanism for resource sharing on a heterogenous network.

Also Known As: NetBIOS for UNIX

sniffer

Definition: Sniffers monitor network data. A sniffer can be a self-contained software program or a hardware device with the appropriate software or firmware programming. Sniffers usually act as network probes or "snoops." They examine network traffic, making a copy of the data without redirecting or altering it. Some sniffers work only with TCP/IP packets, but the more sophisticated tools can work with many other protocols and at lower levels including Ethernet frames.

Years ago, sniffers were tools used exclusively by network engineers. Today, however, these utilities have become popular on the Internet with hackers and the merely curious. The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has utilized a famous sniffer system called "Carnivore" to help detect illegal Internet communications.

Also Known As: network monitor

UNC

Definition: UNC provides a naming convention for identifying network resources. UNC names consist of three parts, a server name, a share name, and an optional file path, that are combined using backslashes as follows

\\server\share\file_path

The server portion of a UNC path refers to names maintained by a network naming service such as DNS or WINS. Share names can be defined by a system administrator or, in some cases, exist automatically within the local operating system.

For example, in Windows 2000 and earlier versions of Windows, the built-in share name admin$ refers to the root directory of the operating system installation (usually C:\WINNT or C:\WINDOWS). (Predefined share names in Windows generally end with a $, but this convention is not required for any new shares an administrator defines.)

Using Windows Explorer or the DOS command prompt, a person can map to the \\computer-name\admin$ UNC share and (with proper security credentials) can remotely access the directory tree under C:\WINNT or equivalent on that computer.

A person can also connect to subdirectories beneath admin$ by specifying the optional portion of the UNC name. For example, \\computer-name\admin$\system32 is the UNC name referring to C:\WINNT\system32 or equivalent on that computer.

UNC notation is used primarily for mapping network drives in the Microsoft Windows family of operating systems, although support for UNC appears in related technologies like Samba. UNC names are most commonly used to reach file servers or printers on a LAN.

Also Known As: Universal Naming Convention, Uniform Naming Convention

REFERENCE:ABOUT.COM

Some DOS Commands for Beginners

noreply@blogger.com (ADMIN) — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 05:46:00 +0000

INTRODUCTION

DOS(Disk Operation System) allows you to control the operation of the PC.

Here you can see the DOS working by your own eyes just Do As same Below written ok!

FIRST Go to start menu and open/click Run option and type cmd there or
Go to start menu-->all programs-->accessories-->command prompt. ok!!

you will see that the new window will open of cmd.exe in black screen yes that is command prompt window.

you will see like c:\Documents and Settings\Admin Name> and blinking cursor yes that cursor is your battle Field Everything

you have to type on that blinking cursor

THESE COMMANDS WORKS FINE BASICALLY IN WINDOWS XP AND WINDOWS 2000

Now Commands>>>>

1.) To Change the Default Drive

C:> A: [Press enter] (result-change drive c: to A:)

A:> C: [Press enter] (result-change drive A: to C:)

2.) Change Directory Command (CD)

C:> Dir [Press Enter] (result- shows all files and folder of that Drive)

C:> dir /w [Enter] (result-Shows directory in wide format, as opposed to a vertical listing)

C:> dir \agis [Enter] (result-Shows files in a subdirectory on drive C (default))

C:> cd movie[Enter] (result-Moves you to the directory called 'movie')

C:> cd \movie\horror[Enter] (result-Moves you to the directory called 'horror' under the directory called 'movie').

C:> cd .. [Enter] (result-Moves you up one level)

C:> cd \ [Enter] (result-Takes you to the root directory (c: in this case)

3.) COPY Command

C:> copy c:wmp.exe a: [Enter] (result-Copies the file 'wmp.exe' from the C drive to the A drive and gives it the same name)

C:> copy a:jack.dat b:\south\king.dat [Enter] (result-Creates a copy of 'jack.dat' from drive A on drive B, putting it in

the 'SOUTH' subdirectory and renaming it 'king.dat')

4.) DIR Options

C:> dir a:*.mov [Enter] (result-Lists all files on the A drive with an extension of 'mov')

C:> dir b:movie.* [Enter] (result-Lists all files on the B drive with a filename of 'movie')

C:> dir a:movi?.com [Enter] (result-Lists all five-letter files with the first four letters 'movi' and an extension of

'COM'

C:> dir b:jet.b?? [Enter] (result-Lists all files with a filename of 'jet' and an extension beginning with 'b')

5.) ERASE Command

C:> erase d:jack.pdf [Enter] (result-Erases the file jack.pdf from the diskette in the D drive. If no drive specification

is entered, the system looks to delete the specified file form drive C)

6.) FORMAT Command

C:> format c: [Enter] (result-Formats the diskette in the C drive)

C:> format d: [Enter] (result-Formats the diskette in the D drive)

c:> format c: /q [Enter] (result- format fastly)

(Follow the screen instruction of Yes/ No in Formatting drive.)

7.) Make Directory Command (MD)

C:> mkdir Music [Enter] (result-Creates a directory called 'Music')

8.) RENAME Command (REN)

C:> ren c:spoon.wmv plate.wmv [Enter] (result-Changes the name of 'spoon.wmv' on the A drive to 'plate.wmv')

9.) Remove Directory Command RMDIR (RD)

C:> rd Mega [Enter] (result-Removes directory called 'Mega')

10.) Change the Command Prompt color

c:> color 24 [Enter] (result- first digit changes background color and second digit changes text color)

0 = Black 8 = Gray
1 = Blue 9 = Light Blue
2 = Green A = Light Green
3 = Aqua B = Light Aqua
4 = Red C = Light Red
5 = Purple D = Light Purple
6 = Yellow E = Light Yellow
7 = White F = Bright White

{works in only windows 2000,windows xp}

11.) View or Change Computer Date

c:> date [Enter] (result- shows pc date and you can change it)

12.) Del command

del jack.txt -- Deletes the jack.txt in the directory that you currently are in, if the file exists.

del c:\windows\jack.txt -- Delete the c:\windows\jack.txt in the windows directory if it exists.

del c:\windows\temp\*.* -- (* is for wild character(s)) *.* indicates that you would like to delete all files in the
c:\windows\temp directory.

del c:\windows\temp\?jack.txt -- (? is a single wild character for one letter) This command would delete any file

ending with jack.txt such as mov.txt or tod.txt.

13.) memory info

c: mem [Enter] (results- show memory of hard drive)

14.) Doskey command

c:> doskey [Enter] (result- shows all used command in blinking cursor by up and down arrow key in keyboard)
{By this command you can retrieve previous long commands on cursor}

For more options just right click on top black bar of the command prompt and click properties or close cmd.

You can also type at c:>exit to close cmd.

Good Luck!!!

Download Online Videos 100% Working Tutorial

noreply@blogger.com (ADMIN) — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 12:56:00 +0000

How to download online videos, movies, music videos,news or anything you want from any online video website.
This is 100% working tutorial just follow the step by step guide.

1. First download a small software ORBIT DOWNLOADER hardly of 2 Mb and intall it.

2. open it from pc program menu it will start on minimizing to taskbar so check taskbar open the window go to top menu options click on Tools.

3. Clicking on Tools dropdown menu appears on that menu go to down and click on Grab++ option.

4.Clicking on Grab++ option it will open new window of Grab++ thats it that is the thing who grab all the videos url from any video containing websites.

5. Simply you have to do that before opening any website containing video url you have open Grab++ window by above Method ok!!! then open your choice of video containing site to download.

6. Its must that a website contain video content for Grab++ to grab. When you open any site like youtube containing your choice of video with Grab++ window then Grab++ will automatically grab the video content url link. and you can download it directly by ORBIT or any download manager basically the video contents are in .flv, .avi, .wmv, .divx etc video file extension. For .flv format download Applian flv player or convert it to other format by video converters and for other format consult this blog (if u r a dummy) tutorials.

7. Its very easy just try it and download any online video of your choice

BELIEVE ME!!!!

GOOD LUCK!!!!

Changing and Reseting BIOS Battery !!

noreply@blogger.com (ADMIN) — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 12:52:00 +0000

First the safety rules

The inside of a computer is a bad place full of electricity and sharp edges.
On the electricity side always when working on you computer make sure that it’s still plugged in to the power socket and the power is turned off, this is to ensure that any static
From you is discharged through the earth. The inside of most computer cases are unfinished metal and has very sharp edges so be careful.

The first signs of a battery failing are:-

1) your clock starts running slowly
2) when you boot (start) your computer it has a problem finding your hardware (no hard drive, no cd rom)

To change the battery you need the following tools

1) a X-point screwdriver
2) an anti-static strap(optional)
3) a new battery (seems logical)

Then unplug all the cables from the back of the computer as you remove them make a note where they came from. (So when you finished you can put them back)

Move the computer somewhere where you can work on it with ease

Remove the cover by locating the screws around the outer edge (back) of the computer
Some computer cases only require you to remove 2 screws on one side then a panel can be removed allowing you access to the computers insides, others you must remove 6 screws and remove the whole case by sliding it to the rear and lifting it off.

Now make sure that you read the safety instructions about static.
Look inside you will see a round silver thing that looks about the size of a coin piece (quarter). This is the battery itself, carefully lift the retaining clip and slide the battery out. That’s it removed now go to your local computer retailer, electrical retailer (Tandy/Radio shack) taking the old battery with you and get a new battery.

Back to your computer insert the new battery by lifting the clip and sliding the battery in.

Reinstall your case and plug all the cables back (you did remember to label them didn’t you)

Now for the fun part

You will now need to go into you bios….

Right the bios is the god of your computer.

To access it, when your computer first starts you will see a black screen with white text.

If you look carefully you will see a line that says something like "press del for setup" or some other key (F2 or ESC or tab) this will take you to god's house where you can make lots of changes to the way your machine works.

It is also the place where you can make your nice computer in to a rather expensive door stop so be careful and don’t go playing with anything.

You will now be presented with a blue screen with a lot of options on it,
The one we want is load optimised/default settings.

Press the F10 key and type y the computer should now reboot.

If every thing went well then your computer will now be up and running.

Shizers way: Keep computer running. Lay it on it's side and remove side cover to expose MoBo. Take any thin object, "small screwdriver, knife point, wood shiskabob skewer. Pull back the battery retaining clip. Toss the old battery in the junk recepticle, unless you belong to greenpeace and want to save the earth. Install the new battery. No need to reset bios becasue the computer supplies voltage to the cmos while it is running. Reset or resync clock with internet. Done!

Free World Dialup

noreply@blogger.com (ADMIN) — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 12:50:00 +0000

Free World Dialup - http://www.freeworlddialup.com/

"Use FWD to make real, free phone calls using your favorite telephone, computer or PDA and any broadband connection. Call your neighbor or a relative, next door or in another country; all with the same ease, speed, and high quality." Thanks to Jeff Pulver and his crew!

Quick summary:

1 - First, got to http://www.freeworlddialup.com and sign up to get your FWD # and password.
2 - Download http://brands.xten.net/x-litefwd/download/X-LiteFWD_Install.exe FWD/X-Lite ("self-configures") program or go to http://www.myphonebooth.com/ to call any FWD # and U.S. toll free #s using Internet Explorer (Firefox not supported).

Quickstart Guide: http://www.freeworlddialup.com/support/quick_start_guide
FWD Xlite Configuration Guide: http://www.freeworlddialup.com/support/configuration_guide/configure_your_fwd_certified_phone/fwd_xlite/all
MS Windows Messenger Configuration Guide: http://pulver.com/fwd/fwd30news.html#messenger (FWD supports Windows Messenger 4.6/4.7 but not MSN Messenger 5.x.)

3 - To call a U.S. landline/cell #, dial *+arecode+7digit#. (This FWD feature is not listed on their website, but has been working for several months now.)

4 - To call a FWD # from a PSTN (your regular phone), click
http://www.dslreports.com/r0/download/476274~3ccc4c9edbe2a596714a4fd9da897204/fwdaccessnumbers.zip or after you've signed up go to FWD web page, click on "Features", "Access #s" for a list of FWD access numbers in your area. Available in several states in the U.S., UK, NL and DE at this time.

Packet8:
-- To call a P8 phone # from a FWD phone: Dial **898 + 1 + P8 number to be routed to P8 service.
-- To call a FWD # from a P8 phone:
*If the FWD # you are calling contains 5 digits, start to dial with the prefix 0351. For example: 035112345
*If the FWD # you are calling contains 6 digits, start to dial with the prefix 0451.

Call UK:
Get a UK telephone # that will call you on your FWD #. Register http://fwd.calluk.com.

FWD Features: Some features like Voice email needs to be activated at http://www.fwdnet.net

Internet Calling
Call Waiting
CallerID
Missed Call notification
Call Forwarding
Call Transfer
Three Way Calling
Voice email
SoftPhone, IP Phones & *Web-based
Aliases
Whitepages directory
ENUM Entry
eDial SOAP
Conferencing
Instant Messaging
Web Calling/FWD-Talk
Corporate Cisco Call Manager Connection
Calling to Toll Free Numbers in the UK, US, NL, JP and FR TellMe Service (411).
-- NL Dial *31(800)... to reach Netherlands toll free #s.
-- UK Dial *44(800)... or *44(808)... or *44 (500) to reach UK toll free #s.
-- US Dial *1(8xx) xxx xxxx to reach United States toll free #s.
-- JP Dial *81 0120... to reach Japan toll free #s.

Frequently used numbers
613 Echo test
55555 Volunteer Welcome Line
514 FWD Coffee House
612 Time
411 TellMe Information
611 Part Time Technical support
511 FWD Conference Bridge

At the moment, I think this is way better than Skype, Yahoo IM voice chat, etc...I've been using FWD for over a year with my cable broadband service and didn't have to set up any port forwarding on my broadband router. Obviously you'ld need a mic/speakers connected to your PC.

You can also use your regular telephone via an adapter http://voipstore.pulver.com/product_info.php?products_id=32 and IP phone http://voipstore.pulver.com/product_info.php?products_id=33. Adapters and IP phones from different vendors like Cisco are available.

* Broadbandreports.com VoIP forum (formerly known as DSLReports.com)
-- If you have any questions or just curious about VoIP, visit the VoIP forum http://www.dslreports.com/forum/voip at DSLReports.com.

All about Firewall

noreply@blogger.com (ADMIN) — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 12:46:00 +0000

A firewall is a tool that monitors communication to and from your computer. It sits between your computer and the rest of the network, and according to some criteria, it decides which communication to allow, and which communication to block. It may also use some other criteria to decide about which communication or communication request to report to you (either by adding the information to a log file that you may browse whenever you wish, or in an alert message on the screen), and what not to report.

What Is It Good For?

Identifying and blocking remote access Trojans. Perhaps the most common way to break into a home computer and gain control, is by using a remote access Trojan (RAT). (sometimes it is called "backdoor Trojan" or "backdoor program". Many people simply call it a "Trojan horse" although the term "Trojan horse" is much more generic). A Trojan horse, is a program that claims to do something really innocent, but in fact does something much less innocent. This goes to the days where the Greek soldiers succeeded to enter through the gates of Troy by building a big wooden horse, and giving it as a present to the king of Troy. The soldiers allowed the sculpture to enter through their gates, and then at night, when the soldiers were busy guarding against an outside attack, many Greek soldiers who were hiding inside the horse went out and attacked Troy from the inside. This story, which may or may not be true, is an example of something which looks like something innocent and is used for some less innocent purpose. The same thing happens in computers. You may sometimes get some program, via ICQ, or via Usenet, or via IRC, and believe this program to be something good, while in fact running it will do something less nice to your computer. Such programs are called Trojan horses. It is accepted to say that the difference between a Trojan horse and a virus, is that a virus has the ability to self-replicate and to distribute itself, while a Trojan horse lacks this ability. A special type of Trojan horses, is RATs (Remote Access Trojans, some say "remote admin Trojans"). These Trojans once executed in the victim's computer, start to listen to incoming communication from a remote matching program that the attacker uses. When they get instructions from the remote program, they act accordingly, and thus let the user of the remote program to execute commands on the victim's computer. To name a few famous RATs, the most common are Netbus, Back-Orifice, and SubSeven (which is also known as Backdoor-G). In order for the attacker to use this method, your computer must first be infected by a RAT.
Prevention of infections by RATs is no different than prevention of infection by viruses. Antivirus programs can identify and remove most of the more common RATs. Personal firewalls can identify and block remote communication efforts to the more common RATs and by thus blocking the attacker, and identifying the RAT.

Blocking/Identifying Other Types of Trojans and WQorms?

There are many other types of Trojan horses which may try to communicate with the outside from your computer. Whether they are e-mail worms trying to distribute themselves using their own SMTP engine, or they might be password stealers, or anything else. Many of them can be identified and blocked by a personal firewall.

Identifying/Blocking Spyware's/Adbots?

The term "spyware" is a slang which is not well defined. It is commonly used mainly for various adware (and adware is a program that is supported by presenting advertisements to the user), and that during their installation process, they install an independent program which we shall call "adbot". The adbot runs independently even if the hosting adware is not running, and it maintains the advertisements, downloads them from the remote server, and provides information to the remote server. The adbot is usually hidden. There are many companies that offer adbots, and advertisements services to adware. The information that the adbots deliver to their servers from the computer where the adbot is installed, is "how much time each advertisement is shown, which was the hosting adware, and whether the user clicked on the advertisement. This is important so that the advertisements server will be able to know how much money to get from each of the advertised companies, and how much from it to deliver to each of the adware maintainers. Some of the adbots also collect other information in order to better choose the advertisements to the users. The term "spyware" is more generic, but most of the spyware fall into this category. Many types of adbots can be identified and blocked by personal firewalls.

Blocking Advertisements?

Some of the better personal firewalls can be set to block communication with specific sites. This can be used in order to prevent downloading of advertisements in web pages, and thus to accelerate the download process of the web sites. This is not a very common use of a personal firewall, though.

Preventing Communication to Tracking Sites?

Some web pages contain references to tracking sites. e.g. instruct the web browser to download a small picture (sometimes invisible) from tracking sites. Sometimes, the pictures are visible and provide some statistics about the site. Those tracking sites will try to save a small text either as a small file in a special directory, or as a line in a special file (depending on what is your browser), and your browser will usually allow the saving site to read the text that it saved on your computer. This is called "web cookies" or sometimes simply "cookies". Cookies allow a web site to keep information that it saved some time when you entered it, to be read whenever you enter the site again. This allow the web site to customize itself for you, and to keep track on everything that you did on that site. It does not have to keep that information on your computer. All it has to save on your computer is a unique identifying number, and then it can keep in the server's side information regarding what has been done by the browser that used that cookie. Yet, by this method, a web site can get only information regarding your visits in it. Some sites such as "doubleclick" or "hitbox" can collect information from various affiliated sites, by putting a small reference in the affiliated pages to some picture on their servers. When you enter one of the affiliated web pages, your browser will communicate with the tracking site, and this will allow the tracking site to put or to read a cookie that identifies your computer uniquely, and it can also know what was the web page that referred to it, and any other information that the affiliated web site wanted to deliver to the tracking site. This way tracking sites can correlate information from many affiliated sites, to build information that for example will allow them to better customize the advertisements that are put on those sites when you browse them.
Some personal firewalls can be set to block communication to tracking sites. It is not a common use of a personal firewall, though, and a personal firewall is not the best tool for that, but if you already have one, this is yet another possible use of it.

Blocking or Limiting the NetBIOS Communication? (as well as other default services)

The two common methods of intruders to break into home computers, are through a RAT (which was discussed in II.3a) and through the NetBIOS communication. The NetBIOS is a standard for naming computers in small networks, developed long ago by IBM and Microsoft. There are a few communication standards which are used in relation to the NetBIOS. The ones that are relevant for Microsoft Windows operating systems, are: NBT (NetBIOS over TCP/IP), IPX/SPX, and NetBEUI. The communication standard which is used over the Internet, is NBT. If it is enabled, and there is no firewall or something else in the middle, it means that your computer is listening for communications over the Internet via this standard, and will react according to the different NBT commands that it gets from the remote programs. It is thus that the NBT (which sometimes loosely called "NetBIOS") is acting as a server. So the next question should be "what remote NBT commands the NBT server will do on the local computer". The answer to this question depends on the specific setting on your computer. You may set your computer to allow file and print sharing. If also NBT is enabled, it means that you allow remote users to share your files or printers. This is a big problem. It is true that in principle the remote user has to know your password for that computer, but many users do not set a password for their user on Windows, or set a trivial password. Older versions of Win95 had file and print sharing over NetBIOS enabled by default. On Win98, and WinMe it was disabled by default, but many technicians, when they set a home network, they enable the file and print sharing, without being aware that it influences also the authorizations of a remote Internet user. There are even worms and viruses who use the File sharing option to spread in the Internet. Anyway, no matter whether you need it for some reason or just are not aware of it, a personal firewall can identify and block any external effort to communicate with the NetBIOS server on your computer. The more flexible personal firewalls can be set to restrict the authorization to communicate with the NetBIOS. Some Windows operating systems, especially those which are not meant for home uses, offer other public services by default, such as RPC. A firewall can identify communication efforts to them, and block them. Since such services listen to remote communications, there is a potential risk when there are efforts to exploit security holes in the programs that offer the services, if there are such security holes. A firewall may block or limit the communication to those services.

Hiding Your Computer on the Internet?
Without a firewall, on a typical computer, even if well maintained, a remote person will still be able to know that the communication effort has reached some computer, and perhaps some information about the operating system on that computer. If that computer is handled well, the remote user will not be able to get much more information from your computer, but might still be able to identify also who your ISP is, and might decide to invest further time in cracking into your computer.
With a firewall, you can set the firewall so that any communication effort from remote users (in the better firewalls you may define an exception list) will not be responded at all. This way the remote user will not be able to even know that it reached a live computer. This might discourage the remote attacker from investing further time in effort to crack into your computer.

The Non-Firewall Defenses

We've discussed a few situations where a personal firewall can provide defense. Yet, in many cases a computer maintainer can deal with those situations even without a firewall. Those "alternative" defenses, in many cases are recommended regardless of whether you use a firewall or not.

Remote Access Trojans?
The best way to defend against remote access Trojans (RATs) is to prevent them from being installed in the first place on your computer. A RAT should first infect your computer in order to start to listen to remote communication efforts. The infection techniques are very similar to the infection techniques that viruses use, and hence the defense against Trojan horses is similar to the defense against viruses. Trojan horses do not distribute themselves (although they might be companions of another Internet worm or virus that distributes them. Yet, because in most cases they do not distribute themselves, it is likely that you will get them from anonymous sources, such as instant messengers, Kazaa, IRC, or a newsgroup. adopting a suspicious policy regarding downloads from such places, will save you not only from viruses but also from getting infected with Trojan horses, including RATs. Because Trojan horses are similar in some ways to viruses, almost all antivirus programs can identify, block from being installed, and remove most of the Trojan horses, including all the common ones. There are also some programs (sometimes called antiTrojan programs) which specialize in the identification and removal of Trojan horses. For a list of those programs, and for comparison on how well different antivirus, and antiTrojan programs identify different Trojan horses, see Hackfix (http://www.hackfix.org), under "Software test results". Hackfix also has information on the more common RATS (such as the Netbus and the Subseven) and on how to remove them manually. There are some tools and web sites, such port scanners, and some ways with a use of more generic tools such as telnet, msconfig, and netstat, which may help you to identify a RAT.

Other types of Trojans and worms?
Also here your main interest should be to prevent them from infecting your computer in the first place, rather than blocking their communication. A good antivirus and a good policy regarding the prevention of virus infections, should be the first and most important defense.

Spyware and Adbots?
The term spyware is sometimes misleading. In my view, it is the responsibility of the adware developer to present the fact that the adware installation will install or use an independent adbots, and to provide the information on how this adbot communicates, and which information it delivers, in a fair place and manner before the adware is installed. It is also a responsibility to provide this information in their web sites, so that people will be aware of that before they even download the software. Yet, in general, those adbots do not pose any security threat, and in many cases also their privacy threat is negligible for many people (e.g. the computer with adbot number 1127533 has been exposed to advertisements a, b, c, such and such times, while using adware x, while on computer with adbot number 1127534 has been exposed to advertisements a,d, and e, such amount of time, with the use of adware y, and clicked on ads number d). It should be fully legitimate for software developers to offer an advertisement supported programs, and it is up to the user to decide whether the use of the program worth the ads and the adbot, or not. Preventing adbot from communicating is generally not a moral thing. If you decide to use an adware, you should pay the price of letting the adbot work. If you don't want it, please remove the adware, and only if for some reason the adbot continue to work even if no hosting adware that uses it is installed, you may remove the adbot. Anyway, there are some very useful tools to identify whether a program is a "spyware", or whether a "spyware" is installed on your computer, and you are certainly entitled to this information. Two useful programs are "AdAware" which identifies "spyware" components on your computer and allows you to remove them, and Ad-Search which allows you to provide a name of a program, and it tells you whether this program is a "spyware" and which adbot it uses. It is useful to assist you in choosing whether to install a program or not. You may find those programs in http://www.lavasoft.nu (or, if it doesn't work, you may try http://www.lavasoftusa.com). Those programs are useful, mainly because many adware developers are not fair enough to present this information in a fair manner. AdAware allows you to also remove those adbot components from your computer. This might, however, terminate your license to use the hosting adware programs, and might even cause them to stop functioning. A website which offers to check whether a specific program that you wish to install is "spyware" or not, is http://www.spychecker.com .

Blocking Advertisements?
Leaving aside the moral aspect of blocking advertisements, a personal firewall is not the best tool for that anyway. This is not the main purpose of a firewall, and neither its main strength. Some of them can block some of the advertisements from being downloaded, if you know how to configure them for that. Yet, there are better tools for that, such as Proxomitron (http://www.proxomitron.org), CookieCop 2 (search for the word cookiecop on http://www.pcmag.com), or Naviscope (http://www.naviscope.com), and there are many other programs as well. You may check for other alternatives, e.g. in Tucows (http://www.tucows.com/adkiller95.html).

Blocking Tracking Sites?
Also here, a personal firewall is not the best tool for that, and there are other tools and ways which are more effective. These are cookie utilities. Since a tracking site uses a cookie to identify and relate the information gathered to the same person (or computer), by preventing the cookie from being installed. The tracking site will lose its ability to track things. There are plenty of cookie management utilities. Some of them are freeware, and some are not. CookieCop which was mentioned in the former section is one of them. WebWasher (http://www.webwasher.com) is another recommended one, and there are plenty of other alternatives such as cookie-crusher, cookie-pal, pop-up killer, etc. You may search for other alternatives, in Tucows (http://www.tucows.com/cookie95.html).

NetBIOS and Other Services?
The NetBIOS over TCP/IP (NBT) which is sometimes loosely called "NetBIOS", is a service which has some security problems with it. It is enabled by default in Windows default installations, and it is very common to see that a firewall does the job of preventing the efforts to get access to your computer via NBT. Yet, in almost all cases, this service is not needed, and thus can be disabled. To disable NBT in Win95/98/ME is not as simple as it is in Win2K/XP, but can still be done reliably. We explain how to do this in another article (#to be written soon). It is needless to say, that if NBT is disabled, there is no need for a firewall to block communication to it. Also, in the case of other services, such as RPC services, and others, in many cases you simply don't need those services and better disable them from within Windows rather than use the firewall to block them. There are various ways to know which services are running on your computer, and which of them are listening for communications from the outside. If there are ones that you don't need, they should be disabled.

Hiding the Computer?
In web sites of many personal firewall companies, they are putting a lot of weight on the ability of their firewall to hide the computer on the Internet. Yet, exposing your home computer on the Internet is by itself, neither a security nor a privacy threat. If you provide some services to the Internet on your computer, for example, you put a web server on your computer to allow other people to view web pages, then you might get rid of some of the crackers, by setting your firewall to unhide only this type of communications. Some attackers will not make a full scan of your computer, but only a partial scan, and if they did not scan for the specific service that you provided, they will not see your computer. Yet, if the service is a common one, there is a good chance for many of them to scan it and thus find the existence of your computer. If they "see" the existence of your computer, they might decide to scan it further, and find out the services you are providing, and scan it for security holes to use. Yet, there is no much meaning to it when we speak about simple home computers.

What a Firewall Cannot Do!

Another misconception about personal firewalls is that they are incorrectly thought as if they claim to give an overall protection against "hackers" (i.e. intrusions). They are not.
Defense Against Exploitation of Security Holes
A firewall can allow or deny access to your computer or from your computer according to the type of communication, its source and destination, and according to the question which program on your computer is handling the communication. Yet, its ability to understand the details of the communication is very limited. For example, you may set the firewall to allow or to deny your e-mail program from getting and/or sending messages. It may allow or deny your web browser from browsing the Internet. But if you allowed your e-mail program to communicate with the e-mail servers for sending and receiving messages, (and you are likely to allow it if you want to use your e-mail program), or if you set the firewall to allow your web browser to communicate with web sites, the firewall will not be able to understand the content of the communication much further, and if your web browser has a security hole, and some remote site will try to exploit it, your firewall will not be able to make a distinction between the communication that exploits the security hole, and legitimate communication. The same principle goes with e-mail program. A personal firewall may block you from receiving or sending e-mail messages, but if you allowed it to receive messages, the personal firewall will not make a distinction between a legitimate message and a non-legitimate one (such as a one that carries a virus or a Trojan horse). Security holes in legitimate programs can be exploited and a personal firewall can do practically nothing about it.
I should comment, however, that some personal firewalls come combined with some Trojan horse detection, or intrusion detection. This is not part of the classical definition of a firewall, but it might be useful. Such tasks are usually taken by other tools such as antivirus programs or antiTrojan programs.

Tricks to Bypass or Disable Personal Firewalls
There are also various ways to disable, or bypass personal firewalls. During the time a few tricks to bypass or disable were demonstrated by various programs. Especially, tricks for an internal program to communicate with the outside bypassing or tricking the firewall. For some of them such as the one demonstrated by the Leaktest, and in which a non-legitimate program disguises itself as Internet Explorer, practically today, all personal firewalls are immuned. For other tricks, such as a one demonstrated by Outbound, which uses some non-standard type of communication directly to the network adapters bypassing the components of the operating system which are suppose to deal with Internet communication, and by that bypassing the firewall, are only now being patched against by the various firewalls, and yet other methods, such as the one demonstrated by Tooleaky, which uses Internet Explorer as a messenger to communicate with the outside, and is thus identified as a mere legitimate browsing, are still waiting for most of the personal firewall to find a fix.

Firewalls CANNOT Decide for You What is a Legitimate Communication and What is Not

One of the main problems with personal firewalls, is that you cannot simply install them and forget them, counting on them to do their job. They can deny or permit various types of communications according to some criteria, but what is this criteria, and who decides what is the criteria for whether they should permit or deny some communication?

The answer, is that it is the computer user's job to define the exact criteria when the firewall should allow a communication and when it should block it. The firewall may make it easier for you, but it should not take the decisions. There are too many programs, too many versions, and it is not possible for the firewall to decide accurately when a communication is legitimate and when it is not. One person might think that it is legitimate for some program to deliver some information to the outside in order to get some service, while another will think that it is not. One version of a program might communicate with its home server in order to check whether there is an upgrade, and another version might also install the upgrade even if you do not wish. Some firewalls will try to identify communication efforts which are largely considered as legitimate, and will let you the information so that it will be easier for you to decide whether such should be allowed. Others will suffice with more basic information, making no suggestions (and thus - no incorrect recommendations). One way or another, once you installed a firewall, you will have better means to understand what types of communications are running on your computer, but you will also have to understand them in order to be able to configure your firewall so that it will correctly know which communications to allow and which to block.

Common Problems and Deficiencies Regarding Personal Firewalls

A personal firewall might be a good contribution to security. Yet, if you do not understand much about the topic, then you are likely to be confused and misled by its alerts and queries, and thus find yourself spending hours in chasing after imaginary crackers, fear from imaginary threats, and misconfigure it due to misunderstanding. You may find yourself blocking legitimate and important communication believing it to be cracking efforts, and thus surprised to see why things work slowly or why you are disconnected from the Internet, or you might be misled to allow a non-legitimate communication by some software that tricked you to believe that it is a legitimate one. On the other side, if you are quite knowledgeable on computers and security, then you are likely to effectively defend your computer even without a firewall (by means discussed in section II.4) and it is thus that the role of personal firewall in securing your computer, is extremely small and not much important. We discuss here in brief some of the problems that personal firewalls may generate.

A False Sense of Security

As we've already learned here, a firewall is limited in its ability to secure your computer. Yet, many people believe that if they will install a personal firewall they will be secured against the various security threats. I was even surprised to find out that there are people who believe that give much higher priority in installing a personal firewall than in installing an antivirus program. An always updated antivirus program plays a much more important role in the security of a personal home computer than installing and maintaining a personal firewall. A personal firewall should not come on account of any other security measure that you use.

A False Sense of Insecurity

When you install a firewall and you look at all the communication efforts through it, you might be surprised at the amount of communication efforts from the Internet to your computer. Most of them are blocked by a typically configured firewall. There are all the times efforts to try to communicate with various backdoor Trojans on your computers. If you are not infected, there will be nothing to listen and to respond to those communication efforts, and they are thus practically harmless. There are efforts to communicate with your NBT driver, to see if your computer by mistake allows file sharing. There are other types of probes to see if your computer exists, or various efforts of servers to probe your computer in order to find the best path for legitimate communication to it. There are sometimes remnants of communications that were supposed to go to other computers, but made their way to yours (for advanced readers: because the IP number that your computer uses, were used by some other computer earlier). Those communication efforts are blocked even without a firewall. If your computer is not infected with a RAT, and if your computer don't have NetBIOS over TCP/IP enabled or even it does not have file and print sharing enabled (and on most computers this is disabled by default), then none of these pose any security threat. If your computer is not infected with a SubSeven Trojan, then no matter how often there will be efforts to communicate with it, they are all doomed to be failed.
Yet, some personal firewall (such as Norton Personal Firewall or ZoneAlarm) by default proudly announce that they have just blocked an effort to crack into your computer. Norton may even define those efforts that were blocked as "high security threats" while they were not a threat at all even if your computer didn't have a personal firewall at all. Such firewalls give you the false impression that they save your computer again and again from extremely dangerous threats on the Internet, so that you wonder how did you survive so much time without noticing any intrusion before you installed the firewall. I usually say, that those personal firewalls are set their "report level" to "promotional mode". Namely, the personal firewall is set to give you the false impression that it is much more important than it really is.

Chasing After Ghosts

This is a side effect of the types of misunderstandings that were discussed in the previous subsection.
When a person who starts to learn about the jargon related to personal firewalls, is reported that some "dangerous" communication efforts persist from the same source, the person is decisive to locate and identify the "hacker", and perhaps report about it to the police or to its Internet service provider. However, since many people do not really understand thoroughly how things work, they may sometimes spend many hours in trying to locate a cracker that does not exist, or when the knowledge they need to have, in order to track the cracker, is much higher than what they have, and they might even suspect the wrong person due to lack of knowledge (e.g. the connection person on the Internet service provider that was used by the cracker). More knowledgeable people, usually do not bother to track those "hackers" (which are usually teenagers), but instead are concentrating on the security of their computer.

Blocking Legitimate Communications

No personal firewall is smart enough to decide for the user what is a legitimate communication and what is not. A personal firewall cannot make a distinction between a legitimate program trying to contact its server to check and notify the user when there is a newer version, and a non-legitimate program trying to communicate with its server in order deliver sensitive information such as passwords, unless the user tells it. It is thus up to the user to decide what should be considered as legitimate and what should not. Yet, can we count on the user to be knowledgeable enough to decide what is legitimate and what is not? In many cases the user is not knowledgeable enough, and may thus allow non-legitimate communication or disallow a legitimate and important communication. There are many types of communications handled just to manage other communications. Among this are various types of communications between your computer and the various servers of your Internet service provider. A not knowledgeable user may interpret those types of communications as cracking efforts, and will thus decide to block them. As a result, a connection might become slower, a connection to the Internet service provider might be disconnected quiet often and other types of communication problems.

Being Tricked by Trojans bbb

Just as less knowledgeable users may instruct the firewall to block legitimate communications, they can be tricked by various Trojans to allow them to communicate. Some Trojans are using names resembling or identical to names of legitimate programs, so that the user would think that it is a legitimate programs. Users should be aware of that.

Heavy Software, Buggy Software

Until now we discussed only problems related to lack of appropriate knowledge by the user. Yet, there are other problems regarding personal firewalls. For example, some of them are known to be quite heavy on computer resources, or slow down the communication speed. Different personal firewalls quite vary with regard to that. If you have a new computer with a slow Internet communication (such as regular dial-up networking) then it might not slow down your computer noticeably. Yet, if you use an older computer, and a fast communication, you might find that some personal firewalls will slow down your communication quite drastically. Personal firewalls also vary on how much they are stable.

Advantages of External Firewalls over Personal Firewalls

1. They do not take resources from the computer. This should be clear. This is especially useful when the firewall blocks flooding attacks.
2. It is harder (although in principle still possible) for a Trojan horse to disable it, because it does not reside in the same computer that the Trojan has infected. It is not possible to use the specific communication while totally bypassing the firewall.
3. They can be used without any dependence on the operating system on the computer(s) they defend.
4. No instability problems.

All about Spyware

noreply@blogger.com (ADMIN) — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 12:44:00 +0000

There are a lot of PC users that know little about "Spyware", "Mal-ware", "hijackers", "Dialers" & many more. This will help you avoid pop-ups, spammers and all those baddies.

What is spy-ware?

Spy-ware is Internet jargon for Advertising Supported software (Ad-ware). It is a way for shareware authors to make money from a product, other than by selling it to the users. There are several large media companies that offer them to place banner ads in their products in exchange for a portion of the revenue from banner sales. This way, you don't have to pay for the software and the developers are still getting paid. If you find the banners annoying, there is usually an option to remove them, by paying the regular licensing fee.

Known spywares
There are thousands out there, new ones are added to the list everyday. But here are a few:
Alexa, Aureate/Radiate, BargainBuddy, ClickTillUWin, Conducent Timesink, Cydoor, Comet Cursor, eZula/KaZaa Toptext, Flashpoint/Flashtrack, Flyswat, Gator, GoHip, Hotbar, ISTbar, Lions Pride Enterprises/Blazing Logic/Trek Blue, Lop (C2Media), Mattel Brodcast, Morpheus, NewDotNet, Realplayer, Songspy, Xupiter, Web3000, WebHancer, Windows Messenger Service.

How to check if a program has spyware?

The is this Little site that keeps a database of programs that are known to install spyware.

Check Here: http://www.spywareguide.com/product_search.php

If you would like to block pop-ups (IE Pop-ups).
There tons of different types out there, but these are the 2 best, i think.

Try: Google Toolbar (http://toolbar.google.com/) This program is Free
Try: AdMuncher (http://www.admuncher.com) This program is Shareware

If you want to remove the "spyware" try these.
Try: Lavasoft Ad-Aware (http://www.lavasoftusa.com/) This program is Free
Info: Ad-aware is a multi spyware removal utility, that scans your memory, registry and hard drives for known spyware components and lets you remove them. The included backup-manager lets you reinstall a backup, offers and multi language support.

Try: Spybot-S&D (http://www.safer-networking.org/) This program is Free
Info: Detects and removes spyware of different kinds (dialers, loggers, trojans, user tracks) from your computer. Blocks ActiveX downloads, tracking cookies and other threats. Over 10,000 detection files and entries. Provides detailed information about found problems.

Try: BPS Spyware and Adware Remover (http://www.bulletproofsoft.com/spyware-remover.html) This program is Shareware
Info: Adware, spyware, trackware and big brotherware removal utility with multi-language support. It scans your memory, registry and drives for known spyware and lets you remove them. Displays a list and lets you select the items you'd like to remove.

Try: Spy Sweeper v2.2 (http://www.webroot.com/wb/products/spysweeper/index.php) This program is Shareware
Info: Detects and removes spyware of different kinds (dialers, loggers, trojans, user tracks) from your computer.
The best scanner out there, and updated all the time.

Try: HijackThis 1.97.7 (http://www.spywareinfo.com/~merijn/downloads.html) This program is Freeware
Info: HijackThis is a tool, that lists all installed browser add-on, buttons, startup items and allows you to inspect them, and optionally remove selected items.

If you would like to prevent "spyware" being install.
Try: SpywareBlaster 2.6.1 (http://www.wilderssecurity.net/spywareblaster.html) This program is Free
Info: SpywareBlaster doesn`t scan and clean for so-called spyware, but prevents it from being installed in the first place. It achieves this by disabling the CLSIDs of popular spyware ActiveX controls, and also prevents the installation of any of them via a webpage.

Try: SpywareGuard 2.2 (http://www.wilderssecurity.net/spywareguard.html) This program is Free
Info: SpywareGuard provides a real-time protection solution against so-called spyware. It works similar to an anti-virus program, by scanning EXE and CAB files on access and alerting you if known spyware is detected.

Try: XP-AntiSpy (http://www.xp-antispy.org/) This program is Free
Info: XP-AntiSpy is a small utility to quickly disable some built-in update and authentication features in WindowsXP that may rise security or privacy concerns in some people.

Try: SpySites (http://camtech2000.net/Pages/SpySites_Prog...ml#SpySitesFree) This program is Free
Info: SpySites allows you to manage the Internet Explorer Restricted Zone settings and easily add entries from a database of 1500+ sites that are known to use advertising tracking methods or attempt to install third party software.

If you would like more Information about "spyware".
Check these sites.
http://www.spychecker.com/
http://www.spywareguide.com/
http://www.cexx.org/adware.htm
http://www.theinfomaniac.net/infomaniac/co...rsSpyware.shtml
http://www.thiefware.com/links/
http://simplythebest.net/info/spyware.html

Usefull tools...
Try: Stop Windows Messenger Spam 1.10 (http://www.jester2k.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/j...r2ksoftware.htm) This program is Free
Info: "Stop Windows Messenger Spam" stops this Service from running and halts the spammers ability to send you these messages.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
All these softwares will help remove and prevent evil spammers and spywares attacking your PC. I myself recommend getting "spyblaster" "s&d spybot" "spy sweeper" & "admuncher" to protect your PC. A weekly scan is also recommended

Free Virus Scan
Scan for spyware, malware and keyloggers in addition to viruses, worms and trojans. New threats and annoyances are created faster than any individual can keep up with.
http://defender.veloz.com// - 15k

Finding . is a Click Away at 2020Search.com
Having trouble finding what you re looking for on: .? 2020Search will instantly provide you with the result you re looking for by drawing on some of the best search engines the Internet has to offer. Your result is a click away!
http://www.2020search.com// - 43k

Download the BrowserVillage Toolbar.
Customize your Browser! Eliminate Pop-up ads before they start, Quick and easy access to the Web, and much more. Click Here to Install Now!
http://www.browservillage.com/ - 36k

Video Tutorial(about different video formats)

noreply@blogger.com (ADMIN) — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 12:36:00 +0000

CAM -
A cam is a theater rip usually done with a digital video camera. A mini tripod is sometimes used, but a lot of the time this wont be possible, so the camera make shake. Also seating placement isn't always idle, and it might be filmed from an angle. If cropped properly, this is hard to tell unless there's text on the screen, but a lot of times these are left with triangular borders on the top and bottom of the screen. Sound is taken from the onboard microphone of the camera, and especially in comedies, laughter can often be heard during the film. Due to these factors picture and sound quality are usually quite poor, but sometimes we're lucky, and the theater will be fairly empty and a fairly clear signal will be heard.

TELESYNC (TS) - A telesync is the same spec as a CAM except it uses an external audio source (most likely an audio jack in the chair for hard of hearing people). A direct audio source does not ensure a good quality audio source, as a lot of background noise can interfere. A lot of the times a telesync is filmed in an empty cinema or from the projection booth with a professional camera, giving a better picture quality. Quality ranges drastically, check the sample before downloading the full release. A high percentage of Telesyncs are CAMs that have been mislabeled.

TELECINE (TC) -
A telecine machine copies the film digitally from the reels. Sound and picture should be very good, but due to the equipment involved and cost telecines are fairly uncommon. Generally the film will be in correct aspect ratio, although 4:3 telecines have existed. A great example is the JURASSIC PARK 3 TC done last year. TC should not be confused with TimeCode , which is a visible counter on screen throughout the film.

SCREENER (SCR) -
A pre VHS tape, sent to rental stores, and various other places for promotional use. A screener is supplied on a VHS tape, and is usually in a 4:3 (full screen) a/r, although letterboxed screeners are sometimes found. The main draw back is a "ticker" (a message that scrolls past at the bottom of the screen, with the copyright and anti-copy telephone number). Also, if the tape contains any serial numbers, or any other markings that could lead to the source of the tape, these will have to be blocked, usually with a black mark over the section. This is sometimes only for a few seconds, but unfortunately on some copies this will last for the entire film, and some can be quite big. Depending on the equipment used, screener quality can range from excellent if done from a MASTER copy, to very poor if done on an old VHS recorder thru poor capture equipment on a copied tape. Most screeners are transferred to VCD, but a few attempts at SVCD have occurred, some looking better than others.

DVD-SCREENER (DVDscr) -Same premise as a screener, but transferred off a DVD. Usually letterbox , but without the extras that a DVD retail would contain. The ticker is not usually in the black bars, and will disrupt the viewing. If the ripper has any skill, a DVDscr should be very good. Usually transferred to SVCD or DivX/XviD.

DVDRip - A copy of the final released DVD. If possible this is released PRE retail (for example, Star Wars episode 2) again, should be excellent quality. DVDrips are released in SVCD and DivX/XviD.

VHSRip -Transferred off a retail VHS, mainly skating/sports videos and XXX releases.

TVRip -TV episode that is either from Network (capped using digital cable/satellite boxes are preferable) or PRE-AIR from satellite feeds sending the program around to networks a few days earlier (do not contain "dogs" but sometimes have flickers etc) Some programs such as WWF Raw Is War contain extra parts, and the "dark matches" and camera/commentary tests are included on the rips. PDTV is capped from a digital TV PCI card, generally giving the best results, and groups tend to release in SVCD for these. VCD/SVCD/DivX/XviD rips are all supported by the TV scene.

WORKPRINT (WP) -A workprint is a copy of the film that has not been finished. It can be missing scenes, music, and quality can range from excellent to very poor. Some WPs are very different from the final print (Men In Black is missing all the aliens, and has actors in their places) and others can contain extra scenes (Jay and Silent Bob) . WPs can be nice additions to the collection once a good quality final has been obtained.

DivX Re-Enc -A DivX re-enc is a film that has been taken from its original VCD source, and re-encoded into a small DivX file. Most commonly found on file sharers, these are usually labeled something like Film.Name.Group(1of2) etc. Common groups are SMR and TND. These aren't really worth downloading, unless you're that unsure about a film u only want a 200mb copy of it. Generally avoid.

Watermarks -
A lot of films come from Asian Silvers/PDVD (see below) and these are tagged by the people responsible. Usually with a letter/initials or a little logo, generally in one of the corners. Most famous are the "Z" "A" and "Globe" watermarks.
Asian Silvers / PDVD -
These are films put out by eastern bootleggers, and these are usually bought by some groups to put out as their own. Silvers are very cheap and easily available in a lot of countries, and its easy to put out a release, which is why there are so many in the scene at the moment, mainly from smaller groups who don't last more than a few releases. PDVDs are the same thing pressed onto a DVD. They have removable subtitles, and the quality is usually better than the silvers. These are ripped like a normal DVD, but usually released as VCD.

Formats

VCD -
VCD is an mpeg1 based format, with a constant bitrate of 1150kbit at a resolution of 352x240 (NTCS). VCDs are generally used for lower quality transfers (CAM/TS/TC/Screener(VHS)/TVrip(analogue) in order to make smaller file sizes, and fit as much on a single disc as possible. Both VCDs and SVCDs are timed in minutes, rather than MB, so when looking at an mpeg, it may appear larger than the disc capacity, and in reality u can fit 74min on a CDR74.

SVCD -
SVCD is an mpeg2 based (same as DVD) which allows variable bit-rates of up to 2500kbits at a resolution of 480x480 (NTSC) which is then decompressed into a 4:3 aspect ratio when played back. Due to the variable bit-rate, the length you can fit on a single CDR is not fixed, but generally between 35-60 Mins are the most common. To get a better SVCD encode using variable bit-rates, it is important to use multiple "passes". this takes a lot longer, but the results are far clearer.

XVCD/XSVCD -
These are basically VCD/SVCD that don't obey the "rules". They are both capable of much higher resolutions and bit-rates, but it all depends on the player to whether the disc can be played. X(S)VCD are total non-standards, and are usually for home-ripping by people who don't intend to release them.

KVCD Thanks for lardo4life for the info
KVCD is a modification to the standard MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 GOP structure and Quantization Matrix. It enables you to create over 120 minutes of near DVD quality video, depending on your material, on a single 80 minute CD-R/CD-RW. We have published these specifications as KVCDx3, our official resolution, which produce 528x480 (NTSC) and 528x576 (PAL) MPEG-1 variable bit rate video, from 64Kbps to 3,000Kbps. Using a resolution of 352x240 (NTSC) or 352x288 (PAL), it's possible to encode video up to ~360 minutes of near VCD quality on a single 80 minute CD-R. The mpeg files created will play back in most modern standalone DVD players. You must burn the KVCD MPEG files as non-standard VCD or non-standard SVCD (depends on your player) with Nero or VCDEasy.

DivX / XviD -
DivX is a format designed for multimedia platforms. It uses two codecs, one low motion, one high motion. most older films were encoded in low motion only, and they have problems with high motion too. A method known as SBC (Smart Bit-rate Control) was developed which switches codecs at the encoding stage, making a much better print. The format is Ana orphic and the bit-rate/resolution are interchangeable. Due to the higher processing power required, and the different codecs for playback, its unlikely we'll see a DVD player capable of play DivX for quite a while, if at all. There have been players in development which are supposedly capable, but nothing has ever arisen. The majority of PROPER DivX rips (not Re-Encs) are taken from DVDs, and generally up to 2hours in good quality is possible per disc. Various codecs exist, most popular being the original Divx3.11a and the new XviD codecs.

CVD -
CVD is a combination of VCD and SVCD formats, and is generally supported by a majority of DVD players. It supports MPEG2 bit-rates of SVCD, but uses a resolution of 352x480(ntsc) as the horizontal resolution is generally less important. Currently no groups release in CVD.

DVD-R -
Is the recordable DVD solution that seems to be the most popular (out of DVD-RAM, DVD-R and DVD+R). it holds 4.7gb of data per side, and double sided discs are available, so discs can hold nearly 10gb in some circumstances. SVCD mpeg2 images must be converted before they can be burnt to DVD-R and played successfully. DVD>DVDR copies are possible, but sometimes extras/languages have to be removed to stick within the available 4.7gb.

MiniDVD -
MiniDVD/cDVD is the same format as DVD but on a standard CDR/CDRW. Because of the high resolution/bit-rates, its only possible to fit about 18-21 mins of footage per disc, and the format is only compatible with a few players.

Misc Info

Regional Coding -
This was designed to stop people buying American DVDs and watching them earlier in other countries, or for older films where world distribution is handled by different companies. A lot of players can either be hacked with a chip, or via a remote to disable this.

RCE -
RCE (Regional Coding Enhancement) was designed to overcome "Multiregion" players, but it had a lot of faults and was overcome. Very few titles are RCE encoded now, and it was very unpopular.

Macrovision -
Macrovision is the copy protection employed on most commercial DVDs. Its a system that will display lines and darken the images of copies that are made by sending the VHS signals it can't understand. Certain DVD players (for example the Dansai 852 from Tescos) have a secret menu where you can disable the macrovision, or a "video stabaliser" costs about 30UKP from Maplin (www.maplin.co.uk)

NTSC/PAL -
NTSC and PAL are the two main standards used across the world. NTSC has a higher frame rate than pal (29fps compared to 25fps) but PAL has an increased resolution, and gives off a generally sharper picture. Playing NTSC discs on PAL systems seems a lot easier than vice-versa, which is good news for the Brits An RGB enabled scart lead will play an NTSC picture in full colour on most modern tv sets, but to record this to a VHS tape, you will need to convert it to PAL50 (not PAL60 as the majority of DVD players do.) This is either achieved by an expensive converter box (in the regions of £200+) an onboard converter (such as the Dansai 852 / certain Daewoos / Samsung 709 ) or using a World Standards VCR which can record in any format.

News Sites -
There are generally 2 news sites for film release for p2p and they are:

nforce - VCD Help
Code:
http://www.vcdhelp.com/

Code:
http://www.nforce.nl.

About Release Files

RARset -
The movies are all supplied in RAR form, whether its v2 (rar>.rxx) or v3 (part01.rar > partxx.rar) form.

BIN/CUE -
VCD and SVCD films will extract to give a BIN/CUE. Load the .CUE into notepad and make sure the first line contains only a filename, and no path information. Then load the cue into Nero/CDRWin etc and this will burn the VCD/SVCD correctly. TV rips are released as MPEG. DivX files are just the plain DivX - .AVI

NFO -
An NFO file is supplied with each movie to promote the group, and give general iNFOrmation about the release, such as format, source, size, and any notes that may be of use. They are also used to recruit members and acquire hardware for the group.

SFV -
Also supplied for each disc is an SFV file. These are mainly used on site level to check each file has been uploaded correctly, but are also handy for people downloading to check they have all the files, and the CRC is correct. A program such as pdSFV or hkSFV is required to use these files.

Usenet Information

Access -
To get onto newsgroups, you will need a news server. Most ISPs supply one, but this is usually of poor retention (the amount of time the files are on server for) and poor completition (the amount of files that make it there). For the best service, a premium news server should be paid for, and these will often have bandwidth restrictions in place.

Software -
You will need a newsreader to access the files in the binary newsgroups. There are many different readers, and its usually down to personal opinion which is best. Xnews / Forte Agent / BNR 1 / BNR 2 are amongst the popular choices. Outlook has the ability to read newsgroups, but its recommended to not use that.

Format -
Usenet posts are often the same as those listed on VCDQUALiTY (i.e., untouched group releases) but you have to check the filenames and the description to make sure you get what you think you are getting. Generally releases should come down in .RAR sets. Posts will usually take more than one day to be uploaded, and can be spread out as far as a week.

PAR files -
As well as the .rxx files, you will also see files listed as .pxx/.par . These are PARITY files. Parity files are common in usenet posts, as a lot of times, there will be at least one or two damaged files on some servers. A parity file can be used to replace ANY ONE file that is missing from the rar set. The more PAR files you have, the more files you can replace. You will need a program called SMARTPAR for this.

Scene Tags

PROPER -
Due to scene rules, whoever releases the first Telesync has won that race (for example). But if the quality of that release is fairly poor, if another group has another telesync (or the same source in higher quality) then the tag PROPER is added to the folder to avoid being duped. PROPER is the most subjective tag in the scene, and a lot of people will generally argue whether the PROPER is better than the original release. A lot of groups release PROPERS just out of desperation due to losing the race. A reason for the PROPER should always be included in the NFO.

SUBBED -
In the case of a VCD, if a release is subbed, it usually means it has hard encoded subtitles burnt throughout the movie. These are generally in malaysian/chinese/thai etc, and sometimes there are two different languages, which can take up quite a large amount of the screen. SVCD supports switch able subtitles, so some DVDRips are released with switch able subs. This will be mentioned in the NFO file if included.

UNSUBBED -
When a film has had a subbed release in the past, an Unsubbed release may be released

LIMITED -
A limited movie means it has had a limited theater run, generally opening in less than 250 theaters, generally smaller films (such as art house films) are released as limited.

INTERNAL -
An internal release is done for several reasons. Classic DVD groups do a lot of .INTERNAL. releases, as they wont be dupe'd on it. Also lower quality theater rips are done INTERNAL so not to lower the reputation of the group, or due to the amount of rips done already. An INTERNAL release is available as normal on the groups affiliate sites, but they can't be traded to other sites without request from the site ops. Some INTERNAL releases still trickle down to IRC/Newsgroups, it usually depends on the title and the popularity. Earlier in the year people referred to Centropy going "internal". This meant the group were only releasing the movies to their members and site ops. This is in a different context to the usual definition.

STV -
Straight To Video. Was never released in theaters, and therefore a lot of sites do not allow these.

OTHER TAGS -

*WS* for widescreen (letterbox)
*FS* for Fullscreen.

RECODE -
A recode is a previously released version, usually filtered through TMPGenc to remove subtitles, fix color etc. Whilst they can look better, its not looked upon highly as groups are expected to obtain their own sources.

REPACK -
If a group releases a bad rip, they will release a Repack which will fix the problems.

NUKED -
A film can be nuked for various reasons. Individual sites will nuke for breaking their rules (such as "No Telesyncs") but if the film has something extremely wrong with it (no soundtrack for 20mins, CD2 is incorrect film/game etc) then a global nuke will occur, and people trading it across sites will lose their credits. Nuked films can still reach other sources such as p2p/usenet, but its a good idea to check why it was nuked first in case. If a group realise there is something wrong, they can request a nuke.

NUKE REASONS :: this is a list of common reasons a film can be nuked for (generally DVDRip)

** BAD A/R ** :: bad aspect ratio, ie people appear too fat/thin
** BAD IVTC ** :: bad inverse telecine. process of converting framerates was incorrect.
** INTERLACED ** :: black lines on movement as the field order is incorrect.

DUPE -
Dupe is quite simply, if something exists already, then theres no reason for it to exist again without proper reason.

A Web Standards Checklist, How to make a proper website

noreply@blogger.com (ADMIN) — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 12:33:00 +0000

A Web Standards Checklist, How to make a proper website

A web standards checklist

The term web standards can mean different things to different people. For some, it is 'table-free sites', for others it is 'using valid code'. However, web standards are much broader than that. A site built to web standards should adhere to standards (HTML, XHTML, XML, CSS, XSLT, DOM, MathML, SVG etc) and pursue best practices (valid code, accessible code, semantically correct code, user-friendly URLs etc).

In other words, a site built to web standards should ideally be lean, clean, CSS-based, accessible, usable and search engine friendly.

About the checklist

This is not an uber-checklist. There are probably many items that could be added. More importantly, it should not be seen as a list of items that must be addressed on every site that you develop. It is simply a guide that can be used:

* to show the breadth of web standards
* as a handy tool for developers during the production phase of websites
* as an aid for developers who are interested in moving towards web standards

The checklist

1.Quality of code
1. Does the site use a correct Doctype?
2. Does the site use a Character set?
3. Does the site use Valid (X)HTML?
4. Does the site use Valid CSS?
5. Does the site use any CSS hacks?
6. Does the site use unnecessary classes or ids?
7. Is the code well structured?
8. Does the site have any broken links?
9. How does the site perform in terms of speed/page size?
10. Does the site have JavaScript errors?

2. Degree of separation between content and presentation
1. Does the site use CSS for all presentation aspects (fonts, colour, padding, borders etc)?
2. Are all decorative images in the CSS, or do they appear in the (X)HTML?

3. Accessibility for users
1. Are "alt" attributes used for all descriptive images?
2. Does the site use relative units rather than absolute units for text size?
3. Do any aspects of the layout break if font size is increased?
4. Does the site use visible skip menus?
5. Does the site use accessible forms?
6. Does the site use accessible tables?
7. Is there sufficient colour brightness/contrasts?
8. Is colour alone used for critical information?
9. Is there delayed responsiveness for dropdown menus (for users with reduced motor skills)?
10. Are all links descriptive (for blind users)?

4. Accessibility for devices
1. Does the site work acceptably across modern and older browsers?
2. Is the content accessible with CSS switched off or not supported?
3. Is the content accessible with images switched off or not supported?
4. Does the site work in text browsers such as Lynx?
5. Does the site work well when printed?
6. Does the site work well in Hand Held devices?
7. Does the site include detailed metadata?
8. Does the site work well in a range of browser window sizes?

5. Basic Usability
1. Is there a clear visual hierarchy?
2. Are heading levels easy to distinguish?
3. Does the site have easy to understand navigation?
4. Does the site use consistent navigation?
5. Are links underlined?
6. Does the site use consistent and appropriate language?
7. Do you have a sitemap page and contact page? Are they easy to find?
8. For large sites, is there a search tool?
9. Is there a link to the home page on every page in the site?
10. Are visited links clearly defined with a unique colour?

6. Site management
1. Does the site have a meaningful and helpful 404 error page that works from any depth in the site?
2. Does the site use friendly URLs?
3. Do your URLs work without "www"?
4. Does the site have a favicon?

1. Quality of code

1.1 Does the site use a correct Doctype?
A doctype (short for 'document type declaration') informs the validator which version of (X)HTML you're using, and must appear at the very top of every web page. Doctypes are a key component of compliant web pages: your markup and CSS won't validate without them.
CODE
http://www.alistapart.com/articles/doctype/

More:
CODE
http://www.w3.org/QA/2002/04/valid-dtd-list.html

CODE
http://css.maxdesign.com.au/listamatic/about-boxmodel.htm

CODE
http://gutfeldt.ch/matthias/articles/doctypeswitch.html

1.2 Does the site use a Character set?
If a user agent (eg. a browser) is unable to detect the character encoding used in a Web document, the user may be presented with unreadable text. This information is particularly important for those maintaining and extending a multilingual site, but declaring the character encoding of the document is important for anyone producing XHTML/HTML or CSS.
CODE
http://www.w3.org/International/tutorials/tutorial-char-enc/

More:
CODE
http://www.w3.org/International/O-charset.html

1.3 Does the site use Valid (X)HTML?
Valid code will render faster than code with errors. Valid code will render better than invalid code. Browsers are becoming more standards compliant, and it is becoming increasingly necessary to write valid and standards compliant HTML.
CODE
http://www.maxdesign.com.au/presentation/sit2003/06.htm

More:
CODE
http://validator.w3.org/

1.4 Does the site use Valid CSS?
You need to make sure that there aren't any errors in either your HTML or your CSS, since mistakes in either place can result in botched document appearance.
CODE
http://www.meyerweb.com/eric/articles/webrev/199904.html

More:
CODE
http://jigsaw.w3.org/css-validator/

1.5 Does the site use any CSS hacks?
Basically, hacks come down to personal choice, the amount of knowledge you have of workarounds, the specific design you are trying to achieve.
CODE
http://www.mail-archive.com/wsg@webstandardsgroup.org/msg05823.html

More:
CODE
http://css-discuss.incutio.com/?page=CssHack

CODE
http://css-discuss.incutio.com/?page=ToHackOrNotToHack

CODE
http://centricle.com/ref/css/filters/

1.6 Does the site use unnecessary classes or ids?
I've noticed that developers learning new skills often end up with good CSS but poor XHTML. Specifically, the HTML code tends to be full of unnecessary divs and ids. This results in fairly meaningless HTML and bloated style sheets.
CODE
http://www.clagnut.com/blog/228/

1.7 Is the code well structured?
Semantically correct markup uses html elements for their given purpose. Well structured HTML has semantic meaning for a wide range of user agents (browsers without style sheets, text browsers, PDAs, search engines etc.)
CODE
http://www.maxdesign.com.au/presentation/benefits/index04.htm

More:
CODE
http://www.w3.org/2003/12/semantic-extractor.html

1.8 Does the site have any broken links?
Broken links can frustrate users and potentially drive customers away. Broken links can also keep search engines from properly indexing your site.

More:
CODE
http://validator.w3.org/checklink

1.9 How does the site perform in terms of speed/page size?
Don't make me wait... That's the message users give us in survey after survey. Even broadband users can suffer the slow-loading blues.
CODE
http://www.websiteoptimization.com/speed/

1.10 Does the site have JavaScript errors?
Internet Explore for Windows allows you to turn on a debugger that will pop up a new window and let you know there are javascript errors on your site. This is available under 'Internet Options' on the Advanced tab. Uncheck 'Disable script debugging'.

2. Degree of separation between content and presentation

2.1 Does the site use CSS for all presentation aspects (fonts, colour, padding, borders etc)?
Use style sheets to control layout and presentation.
CODE
http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG10/wai-pageauth.html#tech-style-sheets

2.2 Are all decorative images in the CSS, or do they appear in the (X)HTML?
The aim for web developers is to remove all presentation from the html code, leaving it clean and semantically correct.
CODE
http://www.maxdesign.com.au/presentation/benefits/index07.htm

3. Accessibility for users

3.1 Are "alt" attributes used for all descriptive images?
Provide a text equivalent for every non-text element
CODE
http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG10/wai-pageauth.html#tech-text-equivalent

3.2 Does the site use relative units rather than absolute units for text size?
Use relative rather than absolute units in markup language attribute values and style sheet property values'.
CODE
http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG10/wai-pageauth.html#tech-relative-units

More:
CODE
http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG10/wai-pageauth.html#tech-relative-units

CODE
http://www.clagnut.com/blog/348/

3.3 Do any aspects of the layout break if font size is increased?
Try this simple test. Look at your website in a browser that supports easy incrementation of font size. Now increase your browser's font size. And again. And again... Look at your site. Does the page layout still hold together? It is dangerous for developers to assume that everyone browses using default font sizes.
3.4 Does the site use visible skip menus?

A method shall be provided that permits users to skip repetitive navigation links.
CODE
http://www.section508.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=Content&ID=12

Group related links, identify the group (for user agents), and, until user agents do so, provide a way to bypass the group.
CODE
http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG10-TECHS/#tech-group-links

...blind visitors are not the only ones inconvenienced by too many links in a navigation area. Recall that a mobility-impaired person with poor adaptive technology might be stuck tabbing through that morass.
CODE
http://joeclark.org/book/sashay/serialization/Chapter08.html#h4-2020

More:
CODE
http://www.niehs.nih.gov/websmith/508/o.htm

3.5 Does the site use accessible forms?
Forms aren't the easiest of things to use for people with disabilities. Navigating around a page with written content is one thing, hopping between form fields and inputting information is another.
CODE
http://www.htmldog.com/guides/htmladvanced/forms/

More:
CODE
http://www.webstandards.org/learn/tutorials/accessible-forms/01-accessible-forms.html

CODE
http://www.accessify.com/tools-and-wizards/accessible-form-builder.asp

CODE
http://accessify.com/tutorials/better-accessible-forms.asp

3.6 Does the site use accessible tables?
For data tables, identify row and column headers... For data tables that have two or more logical levels of row or column headers, use markup to associate data cells and header cells.
CODE
http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG10/wai-pageauth.html#tech-table-headers

More:
CODE
http://www.bcc.ctc.edu/webpublishing/ada/resources/tables.asp

CODE
http://www.accessify.com/tools-and-wizards/accessible-table-builder_step1.asp

CODE
http://www.webaim.org/techniques/tables/

3.7 Is there sufficient colour brightness/contrasts?
Ensure that foreground and background colour combinations provide sufficient contrast when viewed by someone having colour deficits.
CODE
http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG10/wai-pageauth.html#tech-colour-contrast

More:
CODE
http://www.juicystudio.com/services/colourcontrast.asp

3.8 Is colour alone used for critical information?
Ensure that all information conveyed with colour is also available without colour, for example from context or markup.
CODE
http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG10/wai-pageauth.html#tech-colour-convey

There are basically three types of colour deficiency; Deuteranope (a form of red/green colour deficit), Protanope (another form of red/green colour deficit) and Tritanope (a blue/yellow deficit- very rare).

More:
CODE
http://colourfilter.wickline.org/

CODE
http://www.toledo-bend.com/colourblind/Ishihara.html

CODE
http://www.vischeck.com/vischeck/vischeckURL.php

3.9 Is there delayed responsiveness for dropdown menus?
Users with reduced motor skills may find dropdown menus hard to use if responsiveness is set too fast.

3.10 Are all links descriptive?
Link text should be meaningful enough to make sense when read out of context - either on its own or as part of a sequence of links. Link text should also be terse.
CODE
http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG10/wai-pageauth.html#tech-meaningful-links

4. Accessibility for devices.

4.1 Does the site work acceptably across modern and older browsers?

Before starting to build a CSS-based layout, you should decide which browsers to support and to what level you intend to support them.
CODE
http://www.maxdesign.com.au/presentation/process/index_step01.cfm

4.2 Is the content accessible with CSS switched off or not supported?
Some people may visit your site with either a browser that does not support CSS or a browser with CSS switched off. In content is structured well, this will not be an issue.

4.3 Is the content accessible with images switched off or not supported?
Some people browse websites with images switched off - especially people on very slow connections. Content should still be accessible for these people.

4.4 Does the site work in text browsers such as Lynx?
This is like a combination of images and CSS switched off. A text-based browser will rely on well structured content to provide meaning.

More:
CODE
http://www.delorie.com/web/lynxview

4.5 Does the site work well when printed?
You can take any (X)HTML document and simply style it for print, without having to touch the markup.
CODE
http://www.alistapart.com/articles/goingtoprint/

More:
CODE
http://www.d.umn.edu/itss/support/Training/Online/webdesign/css.html#print

4.6 Does the site work well in Hand Held devices?
This is a hard one to deal with until hand held devices consistently support their correct media type. However, some layouts work better in current hand-held devices. The importance of supporting hand held devices will depend on target audiences.

4.7 Does the site include detailed metadata?
Metadata is machine understandable information for the web
CODE
http://www.w3.org/Metadata/

Metadata is structured information that is created specifically to describe another resource. In other words, metadata is 'data about data'.

4.8 Does the site work well in a range of browser window sizes?
It is a common assumption amongst developers that average screen sizes are increasing. Some developers assume that the average screen size is now 1024px wide. But what about users with smaller screens and users with hand held devices? Are they part of your target audience and are they being disadvantaged?

5. Basic Usability
5.1 Is there a clear visual hierarchy?
Organise and prioritise the contents of a page by using size, prominence and content relationships.
CODE
http://www.great-web-design-tips.com/web-site-design/165.html

5.2 Are heading levels easy to distinguish?
Use header elements to convey document structure and use them according to specification.
CODE
http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG10/wai-pageauth.html#tech-logical-headings

5.3 Is the site's navigation easy to understand?
Your navigation system should give your visitor a clue as to what page of the site they are currently on and where they can go next.
CODE
http://www.1stsitefree.com/design_nav.htm

5.4 Is the site's navigation consistent?
If each page on your site has a consistent style of presentation, visitors will find it easier to navigate between pages and find information
CODE
http://www.juicystudio.com/tutorial/accessibility/navigation.asp

5.5 Does the site use consistent and appropriate language?
The use of clear and simple language promotes effective communication. Trying to come across as articulate can be as difficult to read as poorly written grammar, especially if the language used isn't the visitor's primary language.
CODE
http://www.juicystudio.com/tutorial/accessibility/clear.asp

5.6 Does the site have a sitemap page and contact page? Are they easy to find?
Most site maps fail to convey multiple levels of the site's information architecture. In usability tests, users often overlook site maps or can't find them. Complexity is also a problem: a map should be a map, not a navigational challenge of its own.
CODE
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20020106.html

5.7 For large sites, is there a search tool?
While search tools are not needed on smaller sites, and some people will not ever use them, site-specific search tools allow users a choice of navigation options.

5.8 Is there a link to the home page on every page in the site?
Some users like to go back to a site's home page after navigating to content within a site. The home page becomes a base camp for these users, allowing them to regroup before exploring new content.

5.9 Are links underlined?
To maximise the perceived affordance of clickability, colour and underline the link text. Users shouldn't have to guess or scrub the page to find out where they can click.
CODE
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20040510.html

5.10 Are visited links clearly defined?
Most important, knowing which pages they've already visited frees users from unintentionally revisiting the same pages over and over again.
CODE
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20040503.html

6. Site management

6.1 Does the site have a meaningful and helpful 404 error page that works from any depth in the site?
You've requested a page - either by typing a URL directly into the address bar or clicking on an out-of-date link and you've found yourself in the middle of cyberspace nowhere. A user-friendly website will give you a helping hand while many others will simply do nothing, relying on the browser's built-in ability to explain what the problem is.
CODE
http://www.alistapart.com/articles/perfect404/

6.2 Does the site use friendly URLs?
Most search engines (with a few exceptions - namely Google) will not index any pages that have a question mark or other character (like an ampersand or equals sign) in the URL... what good is a site if no one can find it?
CODE
http://www.sitepoint.com/article/search-engine-friendly-urls

One of the worst elements of the web from a user interface standpoint is the URL. However, if they're short, logical, and self-correcting, URLs can be acceptably usable
CODE
http://www.merges.net/theory/20010305.html

More:
CODE
http://www.sitepoint.com/article/search-engine-friendly-urls

CODE
http://www.websitegoodies.com/article/32

CODE
http://www.merges.net/theory/20010305.html

6.3 Does the site's URL work without "www"?
While this is not critical, and in some cases is not even possible, it is always good to give people the choice of both options. If a user types your domain name without the www and gets no site, this could disadvantage both the user and you.
6.4 Does the site have a favicon?

A Favicon is a multi-resolution image included on nearly all professionally developed sites. The Favicon allows the webmaster to further promote their site, and to create a more customized appearance within a visitor's browser.
CODE
http://www.favicon.com/

Favicons are definitely not critical. However, if they are not present, they can cause 404 errors in your logs (site statistics). Browsers like IE will request them from the server when a site is bookmarked. If a favicon isn't available, a 404 error may be generated. Therefore, having a favicon could cut down on favicon specific 404 errors. The same is true of a 'robots.txt' file.

Guide to Internet

noreply@blogger.com (ADMIN) — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 12:30:00 +0000

The Internet is a computer network made up of thousands of networks worldwide. No one knows exactly how many computers are connected to the Internet. It is certain, however, that these number in the millions.

No one is in charge of the Internet. There are organizations which develop technical aspects of this network and set standards for creating applications on it, but no governing body is in control. The Internet backbone, through which Internet traffic flows, is owned by private companies.

All computers on the Internet communicate with one another using the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol suite, abbreviated to TCP/IP. Computers on the Internet use a client/server architecture. This means that the remote server machine provides files and services to the user's local client machine. Software can be installed on a client computer to take advantage of the latest access technology.

An Internet user has access to a wide variety of services: electronic mail, file transfer, vast information resources, interest group membership, interactive collaboration, multimedia displays, real-time broadcasting, shopping opportunities, breaking news, and much more.

The Internet consists primarily of a variety of access protocols. Many of these protocols feature programs that allow users to search for and retrieve material made available by the protocol.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

COMPONENTS OF THE INTERNET

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

WORLD WIDE WEB
The World Wide Web (abbreviated as the Web or WWW) is a system of Internet servers that supports hypertext to access several Internet protocols on a single interface. Almost every protocol type available on the Internet is accessible on the Web. This includes e-mail, FTP, Telnet, and Usenet News. In addition to these, the World Wide Web has its own protocol: HyperText Transfer Protocol, or HTTP. These protocols will be explained later in this document.

The World Wide Web provides a single interface for accessing all these protocols. This creates a convenient and user-friendly environment. It is no longer necessary to be conversant in these protocols within separate, command-level environments. The Web gathers together these protocols into a single system. Because of this feature, and because of the Web's ability to work with multimedia and advanced programming languages, the Web is the fastest-growing component of the Internet.

The operation of the Web relies primarily on hypertext as its means of information retrieval. HyperText is a document containing words that connect to other documents. These words are called links and are selectable by the user. A single hypertext document can contain links to many documents. In the context of the Web, words or graphics may serve as links to other documents, images, video, and sound. Links may or may not follow a logical path, as each connection is programmed by the creator of the source document. Overall, the Web contains a complex virtual web of connections among a vast number of documents, graphics, videos, and sounds.

Producing hypertext for the Web is accomplished by creating documents with a language called HyperText Markup Language, or HTML. With HTML, tags are placed within the text to accomplish document formatting, visual features such as font size, italics and bold, and the creation of hypertext links. Graphics and multimedia may also be incorporated into an HTML document. HTML is an evolving language, with new tags being added as each upgrade of the language is developed and released. The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), led by Web founder Tim Berners-Lee, coordinates the efforts of standardizing HTML. The W3C now calls the language XHTML and considers it to be an application of the XML language standard.

The World Wide Web consists of files, called pages or home pages, containing links to documents and resources throughout the Internet.

The Web provides a vast array of experiences including multimedia presentations, real-time collaboration, interactive pages, radio and television broadcasts, and the automatic "push" of information to a client computer. Programming languages such as Java, JavaScript, Visual Basic, Cold Fusion and XML are extending the capabilities of the Web. A growing amount of information on the Web is served dynamically from content stored in databases. The Web is therefore not a fixed entity, but one that is in a constant state of development and flux.

For more complete information about the World Wide Web, see Understanding The World Wide Web.

E-MAIL
Electronic mail, or e-mail, allows computer users locally and worldwide to exchange messages. Each user of e-mail has a mailbox address to which messages are sent. Messages sent through e-mail can arrive within a matter of seconds.

A powerful aspect of e-mail is the option to send electronic files to a person's e-mail address. Non-ASCII files, known as binary files, may be attached to e-mail messages. These files are referred to as MIME attachments.MIME stands for Multimedia Internet Mail Extension, and was developed to help e-mail software handle a variety of file types. For example, a document created in Microsoft Word can be attached to an e-mail message and retrieved by the recipient with the appropriate e-mail program. Many e-mail programs, including Eudora, Netscape Messenger, and Microsoft Outlook, offer the ability to read files written in HTML, which is itself a MIME type.

TELNET
Telnet is a program that allows you to log into computers on the Internet and use online databases, library catalogs, chat services, and more. There are no graphics in Telnet sessions, just text. To Telnet to a computer, you must know its address. This can consist of words (locis.loc.gov) or numbers (140.147.254.3). Some services require you to connect to a specific port on the remote computer. In this case, type the port number after the Internet address. Example: telnet nri.reston.va.us 185.

Telnet is available on the World Wide Web. Probably the most common Web-based resources available through Telnet have been library catalogs, though most catalogs have since migrated to the Web. A link to a Telnet resource may look like any other link, but it will launch a Telnet session to make the connection. A Telnet program must be installed on your local computer and configured to your Web browser in order to work.

With the increasing popularity of the Web, Telnet has become less frequently used as a means of access to information on the Internet.

FTP
FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol. This is both a program and the method used to transfer files between computers. Anonymous FTP is an option that allows users to transfer files from thousands of host computers on the Internet to their personal computer account. FTP sites contain books, articles, software, games, images, sounds, multimedia, course work, data sets, and more.

If your computer is directly connected to the Internet via an Ethernet cable, you can use one of several PC software programs, such as WS_FTP for Windows, to conduct a file transfer.

FTP transfers can be performed on the World Wide Web without the need for special software. In this case, the Web browser will suffice. Whenever you download software from a Web site to your local machine, you are using FTP. You can also retrieve FTP files via search engines such as FtpFind, located at /http://www.ftpfind.com/. This option is easiest because you do not need to know FTP program commands.

E-MAIL DISCUSSION GROUPS
One of the benefits of the Internet is the opportunity it offers to people worldwide to communicate via e-mail. The Internet is home to a large community of individuals who carry out active discussions organized around topic-oriented forums distributed by e-mail. These are administered by software programs. Probably the most common program is the listserv.

A great variety of topics are covered by listservs, many of them academic in nature. When you subscribe to a listserv, messages from other subscribers are automatically sent to your electronic mailbox. You subscribe to a listserv by sending an e-mail message to a computer program called a listserver. Listservers are located on computer networks throughout the world. This program handles subscription information and distributes messages to and from subscribers. You must have a e-mail account to participate in a listserv discussion group. Visit Tile.net at /http://tile.net/ to see an example of a site that offers a searchablecollection of e-mail discussion groups.

Majordomo and Listproc are two other programs that administer e-mail discussion groups. The commands for subscribing to and managing your list memberships are similar to those of listserv.

USENET NEWS
Usenet News is a global electronic bulletin board system in which millions of computer users exchange information on a vast range of topics. The major difference between Usenet News and e-mail discussion groups is the fact that Usenet messages are stored on central computers, and users must connect to these computers to read or download the messages posted to these groups. This is distinct from e-mail distribution, in which messages arrive in the electronic mailboxes of each list member.

Usenet itself is a set of machines that exchanges messages, or articles, from Usenet discussion forums, called newsgroups. Usenet administrators control their own sites, and decide which (if any) newsgroups to sponsor and which remote newsgroups to allow into the system.

There are thousands of Usenet newsgroups in existence. While many are academic in nature, numerous newsgroups are organized around recreational topics. Much serious computer-related work takes place in Usenet discussions. A small number of e-mail discussion groups also exist as Usenet newsgroups.

The Usenet newsfeed can be read by a variety of newsreader software programs. For example, the Netscape suite comes with a newsreader program called Messenger. Newsreaders are also available as standalone products.

FAQ, RFC, FYI
FAQ stands for Frequently Asked Questions. These are periodic postings to Usenet newsgroups that contain a wealth of information related to the topic of the newsgroup. Many FAQs are quite extensive. FAQs are available by subscribing to individual Usenet newsgroups. A Web-based collection of FAQ resources has been collected by The Internet FAQ Consortium and is available at /http://www.faqs.org/.

RFC stands for Request for Comments. These are documents created by and distributed to the Internet community to help define the nuts and bolts of the Internet. They contain both technical specifications and general information.

FYI stands for For Your Information. These notes are a subset of RFCs and contain information of interest to new Internet users.

Links to indexes of all three of these information resources are available on the University Libraries Web site at /http://library.albany.edu/reference/faqs.html.

CHAT & INSTANT MESSENGING
Chat programs allow users on the Internet to communicate with each other by typing in real time. They are sometimes included as a feature of a Web site, where users can log into the "chat room" to exchange comments and information about the topics addressed on the site. Chat may take other, more wide-ranging forms. For example, America Online is well known for sponsoring a number of topical chat rooms.

Internet Relay Chat (IRC) is a service through which participants can communicate to each other on hundreds of channels. These channels are usually based on specific topics. While many topics are frivolous, substantive conversations are also taking place. To access IRC, you must use an IRC software program.

A variation of chat is the phenomenon of instant messenging. With instant messenging, a user on the Web can contact another user currently logged in and type a conversation. Most famous is America Online's Instant Messenger. ICQ, MSN and Yahoo are other commonly-used chat programs.

Other types of real-time communication are addressed in the tutorial Understanding the World Wide Web.

MUD/MUSH/MOO/MUCK/DUM/MUSE
MUD stands for Multi User Dimension. MUDs, and their variations listed above, are multi-user virtual reality games based on simulated worlds. Traditionally text based, graphical MUDs now exist. There are MUDs of all kinds on the Internet, and many can be joined free of charge. For more information, read one of the FAQs devoted to MUDs available at the FAQ site.

Great Tutorials For All

Block Websites in XP Without Any Software

#How to Back Up the Registry#

#How to Add an Option to Print the Contents of a Folder#

#How To Access Your Folders From Your Taskbar#

#Legal way Password Recovery in Windows XP#

#Ho to Bypass Secure Sites#

#How to Search Google Effectively#

Almost Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Security

COMPUTER MAINTENANCE(MUST READ)

Computer Acronyms and abbreviation

Change The Default Location For Installing Application

Broken IE? Fix it !!

Torrent Tutorials Know About it !!

Boot Winxp Fast

Get in windows 2000 as Administrator.

A BIT ABOUT NETWORKING

switch (network switch)

Ethernet hub

Working With Ethernet Hubs

Characteristics of Ethernet Hubs

When To Use an Ethernet Hub

Ethernet

LAN - Local Area Network

WAN - Wide Area Network

intranet

TCP/IP - Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol

OSI Model - Open Systems Interconnection model

IP - Internet Protocol

IP address

VPN - Virtual Private Network

protocol (network)

Internet Protocols

Routing Protocols

How Network Protocols Are Implemented

HTTP

FTP - What Does FTP Stand For?

ARP - Address Resolution Protocol

MAC - Media Access Control and Address

adapter

subnet

router

broadband router

Networking With A Router

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Choosing a Network Router

Installing a Network Router

DHCP - Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol

gateway

How To Set Up a Network Router

Here's How:

Tips:

What You Need:

What Is a Default Gateway?

PCMCIA - Personal Computer Memory Card International Association

dongle

firewall

Network Firewalls and Broadband Routers

Network Firewalls and Proxy Servers

ICMP

network address

bit

WEP - Wired Equivalent Privacy

Wi-Fi - Wireless Fidelity

server

Apache

Web Servers

MTU

byte

ISP - Internet Service Providers

modem

baud

bps / Bps

IPv6

RPC - Remote Procedure Call

DNS - Domain Name System

XML-RPC

API - Application Programming Interface

NetBIOS

WINS - Windows Internet Naming Service

Using a router on broadband and/or wireless home networks