A PC within your PC

I have been reading a lot of complaints recently from people who have installed Vista on their system and can (apparently) get nothing working. So much so that in some cases they have resorted to wiping their systems and re-installing XP.

For my part I can not understand this. I am a pretty much self confessed download and try everything sort of guy and with the Exception of a demo of 3D studio max that I tried recently I have had no problems at all. Even this was no problem really. Just fired up a VMware session and installed it in my XP system and it works fine in their.

I agree with some that you should not jump i and install Vista on a mission critical PC upon which you rely to run particular software.. so whats the alternative. Well before I installed Vista fully I installed it in a VMware session and installed any "dubious" software in the session to see if there were any issues... non appeared so I did the full install to Ultimate. Perhaps you could try this.

Vista - Where did the Send to Go?

Having spent a few minutes trying to add an item to the send to option in Vista I thought it might be an interesting point to pass on. Easy to do in XP but not so easy to find in Vista.

Here is what you need to do

1. Click win-key+R to Bring up your Run box if it not at the bottom of your start menu
2. then simply paste in following and and hit return or click ENTER:

%USERPROFILE%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\SendTo

3. You can then add your shortcut into the dialogue box that opens or drag a shortcut to it.

There is another way to it but lets keep things simple. If the above does not work for you drop me a not and I will send you the alternatives

The final Demise of Backdoor.Graybird

News breaking recently for those will enable huge numbers to breath a sigh of relief One of the most prolific malware targeting the Windows platform has been decommissioned. Windows users can breathe more relaxed with the knowledge that the makers of Backdoor.Graybird have announced they abandoned the development of the Trojan horse as of March 2007. According to the data provided by Symantec, Backdoor.Graybird, Backdoor.GrayBird [KAV], BackDoor-ARR [McAfee] is a Trojan horse impacting Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows ME, Windows NT, Windows 2000 and Windows XP.

Graybird can be run without the user's knowledge and enables an attacker to capture screenshots, control the Webcam, log keystrokes, steal passwords and have access to files stored locally. Symantec also explained that the backdoor can be injected into running processed and even passed for other applications. Graybird also features rootkit capabilities, making it less of a tool for remote administration and more of a backdoor.

Of course where one falls often another arises somewhat like a Phoenix so lets not all celebrate too soon.

Information received from www.softpedia.com

Microsoft Windows Genuine Advantage

If you were wondering what it is and should you install it here is a brief explanation. Many people out there may have come across this less than subtle crackdown on illegal piracy of Windows XP and Microsoft Office products. Once installed you find you PC pretty much at the mercy of Microsoft in respect of you receiving any further updates Microsoft started with an ActiveX component to force owners of Windows XP to validate their version before downloading security updates. This was pretty much rendered useless by various workarounds. If you are a legit user there is nothing to fear about having this tool but if you are not you may find your windows being rendered useless.

Password Protection

You would think in this day and age that security would be a topic on every bodies minds when it comes to protecting their valuable data and credentials online. Most of tend to protect ourselves against the well publicized threats of Virus and spy ware and install software to ensure we are safe. Hands up those of you who have a password that uses a name of a pet or a loved one... come on you know who you are fess up!

Well OK I am assuming by the silence its a large number. Some sites will now not accept passwords unless they are of a certain strength.. this means it has to meat certain standards and you would do well to look at this as a guideline even if these are not enforced by the site.

The guidelines can vary a little but will normally be something like:
- at least 8 characters in length
- contain at least 1 number
- contain upper and lower case letters
- contain 1 special character, such as: ! & * % $ @ # +
- be changed at least once a year
- be different for each site you use

this may seem a bit of a hassle but if you want to be protected then you must follow these guidelines. Of course the downside of this is it is more difficult to remember the growing list of passwords.

A Question of Phishing

When you first run IE7 you may be faced with the question of enabling the Phishing filter. This is just a short explanation of what you are doing when you say yes.

The Phishing Filter helps protect you by verifying every site you visit against a database of phishing websites. While this is great for helping you feel more secure online, but the downside is that it is terrible for performance. Every page request has to wait for a response from the phishing database before it appears in your browser so of course this carries a penalty on loading times and if your connection speed is not too fast this can be a critical point. By disabling this setting you can drastically increase the speed of IE7, but be aware that you of course compromise your security. Most savvy users will know a rogue site when they see one so do not need this filter but for the Novices out there it can prevent problem sites loading to your PC. If you want to disable it at a later point you can do so from your Toolbar using TOOLS - PHISHING FILTER - TURN ON/OFF AUTOMATIC PHISHING FILTER.

What Browser Should I Use ?

Like most things computing there is not really a very simple answer to this as there is quite a choice out there and depending on your browsing habits one might be more suitable than another.

Some time ago Microsoft released Internet Explorer 7. There has been a fairly major update to its predecessor and it has some fairly nice features including a revised interface, tabbed browsing, improved printing features, and a phishing filter. Not to be left on the shelf the other browser companies have been very busy too and have produced revisions to their own products with similar or better features. Quite a few people migrated away from IE6 in the search of a better experience and found it in browsers like Opera and FireFox.

Unfortunately instead of just offering Internet Explorer 7 as an optional download, they are pushing it to customers via the Automatic Windows Update. Which means you may wake up one day soon, after leaving your computer on, and have a brand new browser replacing Internet Explorer 6.0. For many this may not be a problem but for those of us who like to make our own decisions this is very annoying.

For my own choice I use IE7 and FireFox 2.03 but these days mostly FireFox. My partner uses Opera for most browsing but occasionally has to resort to IE7 as there are occasionally rendering problems with some IE optimised sites.

Other options you might want to look at are Maxthon and Avant although the latter has a slightly annoying habit of releasing an update every second or third day which I find a worry.

There are many more out there and at some point I have tried most of them but to be honest they rarely last more than a few days as inevitably I come up against problems with crashes, sites not loading etc.

At the moment in order of preference I would use FireFox then IE7 followed by Opera all solid platforms that will give you a good surfing experience.

Internet Speed Test

A concern to many people is that they pay for an 4 or 8 meg connection but what is the actual speed that they get. Sadly the results can vary so rapidly from one site to another so it can be difficult to judge. sites such as http://www.speakeasy.net/speedtest/ can offer you a speed test but depending on the server that you connect to even these results can vary quite dramatically. It is however worth trying them as it will at least give you some idea. If having run the tests all results give you a 1 meg or less connection and you are paying for an 8 meg... then you may have some concerns to think about. There are other sites that you could try just do a search in Google for "Internet connection speed test" to find them out. If you want to see if your download speeds are high look to Microsoft.com for a download.... anything at all just to see how it moves. These servers tend to be very quick so you have a better chance than from a normal download server.

When is a Virus Not a Virus

When its a hoax!

Having said this a hoax can become a simply by individuals, in the belief they are doing there duty, forwarding the hoax across the Internet to other unsuspecting individuals, these individuals read the warning and forward it on to still more people. Thus the "virus" spreads throughout the Internet. The next time you receive an email warning of potential hazard to your computer it would be best to report this to your IT manager, if you have one, or perhaps do a search in Google as often these hoaxes have fairly high publicity and it may appear there. Type in a sentence from your mail and see what comes up.

but whatever you do please check out verify its authenticity before forwarding it on to someone. As much damage can be caused by good intention as by those who actually do send viruses on.

Vista or Stick

With the recent release of Windows Vista, you might be tempted upgrade to the latest and possibly one of their best to date. There are different trends of thought on this. Some prefer to wait until the release of the first service pack to ensure a more stable version is available whilst others jump in with both feet. I think for the novices out there it is best to wait for the service pack as you may spend time trying to resolve issues that are beyond you but if you have a good working knowledge why not consider a dual boot system and have the best of both worlds.

An important Step before you rush out to buy a copy, make sure you take a look at the Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor. This page has a tool which you can download and use to analyze your system to see if it is capable of running Vista. But it can only be used as a guide and you might want to consider some additional homework such as what type of Software you wish to run etc.

Clean Boot - Cold Boot

There are certain terms that some of us in Industry take for granted and expect them to be common knowledge hence when you make the call for technical support you may be asked to “cold boot” your PC when running their onscreen lists for troubleshooting. This basically means you completely turn off your PC in order to allow the memory contents to be completely flushed out of the system. They may not ask you to unplug your PC but I have found in the past this is a wise addition resolving problems as certain components can hold a charge and your problem may not clear unless you follow a certain course of events. These Are:

1. Shut down the PC.Unplug the power cord from the wall or turn off at the switch.
2. Wait at least 15 - 20 seconds.
3. Plug the power cord back in or turn on at the switch.Power on the PC.
   

This should set your PC to a Clear state.

Zone Alarm - Firewall

Zone Alarm

High on the list of "must haves" is a good firewall. Now XP made some good steps in improving this aspect of their OS but it was still a VERY long way from being perfect. I had a slight tearing of loyalties on this one as I am quite an AVG fan but as far as the firewall aspect goes I think that Zone Alarm will take a lot of beating. Once again, you may note a theme here, Zone Alarm offers a FREE version for you to upgrade later or simply stay with the free. I love these companies that do this they have real confidence in their products and I am sure you will agree if you give them a try.

Ad-Aware Spyware Removal

Ad-Aware

In addition to problems created by viruses there is another problem that you can have on your PC. This problem can be less destructive than most viruses but can cause severe performance problems and sundry annoyances. Referred to as Spyware these items can be placed on your PC by the unscrupulous to log and report your activities also cause redirections of page views or homepage adjustments to mention but a few. Thankfully help is at hand in the form of Ad-Aware. Once again this reputable publisher offers their product for FREE in the confident belief that you will buy it or the upgrade package at a later date. I find the software an invaluable part of my system maintenance along with AVG and would strongly advise you to add it to yours. Many other titles can cause side effects of their own I have not found this to be the case.

AVG Anti Virus Software

AVG

Why should we use AVG Anti Virus software? Well to the many thousands of people who have had their Pc's or Data destroyed my the malicious connivings of those with little better to do with their live the answer is obvious. I have, however come across a few lucky people who have said " I have never had a virus so see no reason to go to the expense of buying software to prevent it". Once it has been pointed out to them that their PC does not necessarily have to show signs of a virus to actually have one but that they could be happily spreading a virus to many others that they pause to think. There are many and varied Virus checkers out there on the market but there are few that will actually give you there product free AVG is one of these. They are very confident that you will like there product so much so they will let you have it free and trust that you will return to buy the professional version. I use the Pro version and am very happy with it, I think you would be too. You can visit their web site to see what they have to offer by clicking on the image or any of the links in this blog.

Technical Terms

ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line )

A connection available from Telecom companies using existing lines with fast download & upload speeds. Often referred to as Broadband.

It works by splitting your phone line signal into two separate channels, one for normal voice usage and the other for data usage, this is achieved by placing a splitter on the existing phone line to enable multi-frequency communication.

An advantage of having an ADSL line is not missing calls while you're online, as both voice and data can be transferred at the same time.

AGP (Advanced Graphics Port or an Accelerated Graphics Port)

A high speed point-to-point channel for attaching a graphics card to a computer's motherboard, primarily to assist in the acceleration of 3D computer graphics.

You will see AGP cards advertised with different specifications, including throughput (bandwidth), here is a summary of the throughput they refer to:

1 x - 266MBps 2 x - 533MBps 4 x - 1.07GBps 8 x - 2.1GBps

This has now been replaced by the more modern PCI Express

Antispyware

Software that scans your computer's hard drive for all known traces of spyware. After the scanning is complete you can usually choose which spyware to delete.

Antivirus

Software that scans your computer's hard drive for all known traces of viruses. After the scanning is complete you can usually choose which viruses to delete.

Attachment

This is the name normally given to a file that is sent with an email, the attachment can be any type of file including photos, documents, zipped files/folders, etc. see also Viruses

AVI

Is a multimedia file type, the audio and video elements are interleaved in alternate segments within the AVI file. A popular format on the Internet for video distribution. The file extension for these types of files are .avi

Bandwidth

This refers to the capacity of a communications line/channel to transmit and receive information and is measured in bits, bytes, kilobytes, megabytes and gigabytes. When specified by your ISP provider it is the monthly quota of data that you are allowed to upload and download with your internet connection and is normally measured in Megabytes or Gigabytes.

Bitmap

A common graphic format used by computers, the graphic or picture is made up of a number of individual dots (bits) to form an image. The file extension for these types of files are .bmp

BLOG

This refers to a webpage which is usually published by either an individual. They contain personal journals or diaries and normally updated daily or weekly etc. and cover a variety of subjects.

Bluetooth

A wireless technology which allows digital devices to easily transfer files at high speed, bluetooth is common in many portable devices such as laptops, PDAs and mobile phones. Bluetooth devices are low-powered and low-range.

Boot

The process of initialising, testing and configuring a computer system from start-up.

Browser

This is the program you use to surf the internet, i.e. Internet Explorer, Opera etc. Most browsers render web pages slightly differently, for example some sites may require a certain browser to function correctly and some sites may not function at all with some browsers.

Byte

A Byte is made up of 8 bits, and is the measurement unit used to describe the storage capacity and transfer rate of digital systems. Common multiples of bytes are Kilobytes (1024 bytes) Megabytes (roughly 1,000,000 bytes).

Cache

Normally there are two types, disk cache and memory cache.

Disk cache is the space normally on a hard disk set aside by the computer/software to store information that it thinks it will need again in the future, for instance browsers use disk cache to store information from websites, this reduces the need to keep downloading the same data each time you visit a webpage. Memory cache can either utilise normal memory or special memory which has a faster access time and is used by the system to store information that is used frequently, it saves information that it thinks the user may require next and loads this into the cache memory for faster access.

CD Rom

Similar to an audio CD and works in much the same way but stores data instead of music.

Cluster

Is a sector in a small area of the hard disk drive. A typical hard disk drive when low-level formatted is split into tracks, sectors and clusters, clusters are a set of sectors. A lost cluster is a cluster that the operating system has classed as being in use, but actually contains no data. Windows has a ScanDisk utility which is designed to search for lost clusters and make them available to the file system again.

CODEC

Refers to a small piece of code (program) which is used to compress and decompress data, usually when using Audio and Video. You may be prompted to download a CODEC when you visit a site that requires a certain CODEC not already installed on your PC.

Cookie

These are small text files that are placed on your computer by websites for various reasons. This piece of information which is sent by the Web server to the Web browser is normally then expected to save the data and send it back to the server whenever the browser makes additional requests from the server.

CPU (Central processing unit)

This refers to the processor in your PC system, it interprets and executes instructions and data that is contained in the software.

Crash

A term which applies when your computer doesn't respond or the screen freezes up.

Cursor

This is the small vertical or horizontal flashing line which shows the position on the screen where text will appear the next time you type a character on the keyboard. The cursor can be moved around the screen using the cursor (arrow) keys or alternatively using a mouse.

Data

Is used to describe the information that is stored. Data can refer to anything, such as word processor documents, images, music, games, etc, although in its purest form in a digital system it is simply bits stored and processed in a certain way.

Database

This refers to a file that is used to store information in a format that is easily retrieved and manipulated on your pc. The most common database files are made up of tables, fields and records.

Defragmentation

A term used for the process of scanning the file system and rejoining any split files back into consecutive pieces, this would normally happen when a file is originally saved, then modified causing the file to be larger in physical space than first anticipated, the operating system will then break the file into 2 or more pieces and store them in different parts of the storage area.

Desktop

Refers to the main screen area of the Windows operating system.

DLL (Dynamic Link Library)

Refers to a type of file that is stored either locally or remotely and is a collection of commands and/or data which can be shared by different programs. The file extension for these type of files are .dll

Domain

A domain name comes after the http://www which personalises the website and is seen in the address bar of your browser.

Download

A term used to describe when a file is transferred from a remote machine to a local machine using a communications link, for instance when you download a file from a website you are transferring the data from the host to your machine.

Driver

A program that is written specifically to control a certain piece of hardware such as a printer, scanner, sound card, modem, graphics card, etc. Manufacturers usually supply their own drivers for their particular products.

DVD (Digital Versatile Disc or Digital Video Disc)

Similar to an audio CD, but it has a storage capacity far greater (up to 17Gb) and a faster access time (up to 1.3MBps) than a standard CD-ROM. Some DVDs can store data on both sides of the disc (4.7Gb per side / 133 mins of video with sound). Double sided, dual layer discs can hold up to 17Gb of data.

Email (Electronic Mail)

This is a system used by computers to send and receive messages over the internet.

Email Attachment

A name given to a file that is sent with an email, an email attachment can be any type of file including documents, images, zipped files/folders, etc.

Flash

A tool used to create animated content, particularly to websites. A flash file will have a .swf file extension and will often be used to design ads and small movie files that appear like cartoons on the Internet.

Firewall

Is a security program which protects your computer from unauthorised access through the Internet. It resides on your pc and filters traffic coming and going from your computer.

Gigahertz (GHZ)

A frequency measurement and it refers to billions of cycles per second.

GIF (Graphics Interchange Format)

An image format, they can be interlaced and animated making them a popular choice for web designers. The file extension for these type of files are .gif

Gigabyte (GB)

A measurement used to describe 1024 Megabytes. Hard disk capacity is usually measured in Gigabytes. 1 Gigabyte is 1,073,741,824 Bytes.

Graphics Card

A Graphics Card is an internal device which controls and produces the display on your screen.

Hard Drive

This is your computers main storage device, this is where you would normally keep your programs and files.

Hardware

This usually refers to your computer case with any components inside it. Motherboards, memory (RAM), modems, soundcards, and graphics cards are all classed as hardware.

HTML (HyperText Mark-up Language)

A simple hypertext publishing language. The hypertext document encoding scheme is used for resources published on World-Wide Web servers.

Internet

Refers to a world wide network of computer systems all using the TCP/IP network protocols. Commonly refers to the world wide web.

IP Address (Internet Protocol)

A unique number split into 4 parts (soon to be 6) separated by full stops, every computer connected to the internet has an IP address.

ISP (Internet Service Provider)

Refers to a company which provides Internet services.

JPEG (Joint Photographics Experts Group)

This is an image format that can compress images to very small file sizes, commonly used on the internet due to faster image transfer rates. The file extension for these type of files are .jpg

Kilobyte (KB)

A measurement used to describe storage capacity, 1 Kilobyte is equal to 1024 Bytes in digital systems.

Megabyte (MB)

A measurement used in PCs to describe storage capacity usually RAM. One megabyte is equal to 1024 Kilobytes

Memory

Is often referred to as RAM and is used for temporary storage of data.

MODEM (Modulator Demodulator)

A communications device used to connect to the internet.

Mouse

A pointing device used to interact with a PC.

MP3

An audio file which has been compressed using the MPEG compression standard.

MPEG (Motion Picture Experts Group)

A compression standard used for compressing Video and Audio files to a smaller physical size.

Operating System (OS)

Refers to the main software of a computer system, all installed programs run under the control of the operating system.

Peripheral

A peripheral is any computer device that is not part of the essential computer (the processor, memory, and data paths) but is situated relatively close by. Some peripherals are mounted in the same case with the main part of the computer, as are the hard disk drive, CD-ROM drive and NIC. Other peripherals are outside the computer case, such as the printer and image scanner, attached by a wired or wireless connection.

PIXEL (Picture Element)

Refers to individual 'bits' of data that form an image, also refers to screen resolution.

Plug and Play (PNP)

Plug and Play compatible devices communicate with the operating system allowing automated configuration, most new hardware is Plug and Play compatible.

POP (Post Office Protocol)

A POP server allows you to send and receive your email through an email client program.

Ram (Random Access Memory)

See Memory

Registry

Where Windows stores information in order for it to operate and perform certain tasks.

Resolution

To a monitor this measurement depicts the amount of horizontal and vertical pixels. When referring to a printer or a scanner it depicts the DPI. (Dots per inch).

ROM (Read Only Memory)

A type of memory storage which is not power dependent. The data once stored will remain after the power is shut down.

Safe Mode

This is a way for Windows to boot with only the minimum necessary system files. A great tool for troubleshooting, and it also makes scanning for viruses and spyware much more effective.

Software

A term given to the programs that a computer executes. An example of software would be a word processor or an accounts package.

Sound Card

An internal device which controls and produces any sounds including music that your PC makes.

SPAM

This can come in a variety of forms, although the most common is unsolicited commercial email.

Spyware

Software that will quietly gather information through the user's internet connection. This information is then transmitted to someone else. Mostly used to gather information.

Surge

A voltage increase, lasting seconds, that can cause components to fail prematurely.

TIFF (Tagged Image File Format)

A type of image format file and are basically Bitmap images, they are not restricted in resolution and can be black and white, grey scale or full colour. The file extension for these type of files are .tiff

Trojan

Software that gets into a computer usually unnoticed. It does not replicate itself but it has a variety of functions including damaging your computer, passing private information to hackers, etc.

Upload

This refers to the process of sending a file from a local computer to a remote computer via a communications line.

URL (Uniform Resource Locator)

What you see in the address bar of your web browser and it is the full unique address of websites or pages or files on the internet.

USB (Universal Serial Port)

Is a port on your pc for connecting devices (mice, printers, scanners, etc)

Virus

A harmful program that can run on your computer without your knowledge and can cause damage to your files or your computer usually by attaching itself to other programs.

WAV

An audio file format. The file extension for these types of files is .wav

WI-FI (Wireless Fidelity)

This refers to a type of wireless technology which allows users to connect to a local network without the need for cables. Known also as a WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network).

WWW (World Wide Web)

Describes the internet as a whole, millions of computers all over the world connected via phone lines in one large network

Who needs Advice?

There are many websites out there offering advice and help for PC's but I would like to think I could offer you something a little different. For one thing its FREE that has to be a bit different. If you have a question you would like me to help you out with please contact me. I will try to keep all my posts user friendly and as jargon free as possible. There will be hints and tips posted on a regular basis and I will add to the A to Z as time permits.