Pc-home: 2012

Tuesday, 4 December 2012

Multi-Player Gaming

Computers are not only useful for work, they are also an excellent way to waste time by playing games. Computer games have come a long way since Pong, Breakout and Pacman. Using recent technology such as OpenGL, 3D, advanced environmental sound, Force Feedback joysticks and incredible game engines with amazing artificial intelligence have taken PC games to a whole new level of entertainment. Landscapes never looked so nice, race cars never drove so real, foot steps never sounded so scary, monsters never so smart.
But even with all this amazing technology and realistic games, they are still limited as far as the opponents are concerned. After a while you figure out where the monsters are waiting – always in the same spot in the same levels – and the driving style of that computer race car driver you’re competing against. You master all the levels, win all the races – what now? Is the game over?
Not at all, the fun is just beginning. Mastering a game in single-player mode is just a way of getting used to the controls and familiar with the game, just a way of preparing you for the next step – multi-player gaming.
Multi-Player Gaming
Multi-player gaming has become very popular over the last few years and added a whole new level of excitement to games. Instead of fighting senseless and predictable monsters, you compete against other human minds that are sneaky, competitive and much less predictable. There are always new people to play, no game is ever the same, the fun never ends.
There are now hundreds of PC games that have the capability of playing against other people over a network, either over the Internet or a local area network (LAN) at your house or the office. Probably the most popular and all-time favorite multi-player game is Quake, a first-person-shooter (FPS). The third installment of Quake will actually be multi-player only, no single-player mode. That should speak for the popularity of multi-player gaming. Other popular multi-player games are Age of Empires, Command and Conquer, Half-Life, Links, Need for Speed, Unreal, Mech Warrior, just to name a few.
To play a multi-player game you need a game that of course supports multi-player gaming, a PC with decent performance, and a connection to a network, either the Internet or a local area network. Let’s first take a look at how to set up a local network game.

Multi-booting Windows

- Alex -
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Contents

Introduction
Having multiple versions of Windows available can be helpful in many ways for home as well for business use. For example, you prefer working with Windows NT 4, but other family members prefer Windows 98 and Windows 95. Or maybe you mainly use Windows ME but you have a game that only runs in Windows 98. You could be a software engineer who needs to test some code in different operating systems. Perhaps you are a QA tester and need to put an application through its paces in several operating systems.
Whatever the reason may be, unless you have multiple PCs and plenty of desk space available to you, a computer with a multi-boot environment is the optimal setup. A PC with a multi-boot setup allows you to switch between different versions of Windows by simply restarting the PC and selecting the desired operating system. The instructions in this guide will show you how to take a machine with a blank hard drive, and turn it into an efficient multi-boot machine. You’ll learn about:

Creating and managing multi-boot environments with System Commander 2000
Installing different versions of Windows operating systems
Creating and restoring images of partitions
Creating, deleting, moving, and resizing partitions

If the instructions seem a bit long, it is because they were written for detail and clarity and to cover almost any possible situation, and to help make the process as simple as possible.
What You Need
There are of course several ways of setting up a multi-boot system and making drive images. We’ll leave it up to you what Windows versions you decide to multi-boot and what boot manager program you want to use. In our example, we started out with a collection of CDs and floppies for the following programs:

MS-DOS 6.22 Boot Disk
Windows 98 Boot Disk
Windows NT 4 Setup Disks
Windows 2000 Setup Disks
MS-DOS 6.22 Installation Disks
Windows 95 Installation CD
Windows 98 Installation CD
Windows ME Installation CD
Windows NT 4 Installation CD
Windows 2000 Installation CD
System Commander 2000 Installation CD – http://www.v-com.com
Partition Magic 5.01 Rescue Floppy Disk – http://www.powerquest.com
Drive Image 3.02 Rescue Floppy Disk – http://www.powerquest.com
Current drivers for all hardware for all Operating System you plan to use!
Service Packs for Windows NT 4 and/or Windows 2000

This collection is a good start for a multi-boot toolkit.

Multi-booting Windows

- Alex -
Download this article as a text file (Self-Extracting Zip)
View this article in printer-friendly plain-text format
E-mail this article to a friend

Contents

Creating and managing multi-boot environments with System Commander 2000
Installing different versions of Windows operating systems
Creating and restoring images of partitions
Creating, deleting, moving, and resizing partitions

MS-DOS 6.22 Boot Disk
Windows 98 Boot Disk
Windows NT 4 Setup Disks
Windows 2000 Setup Disks
MS-DOS 6.22 Installation Disks
Windows 95 Installation CD
Windows 98 Installation CD
Windows ME Installation CD
Windows NT 4 Installation CD
Windows 2000 Installation CD
System Commander 2000 Installation CD – http://www.v-com.com
Partition Magic 5.01 Rescue Floppy Disk – http://www.powerquest.com
Drive Image 3.02 Rescue Floppy Disk – http://www.powerquest.com
Current drivers for all hardware for all Operating System you plan to use!
Service Packs for Windows NT 4 and/or Windows 2000

This collection is a good start for a multi-boot toolkit.

Ultimate PC Secrets

I just read a good book thats shows many tips for speeding up computers. Ultimate PC Secrets is the name and it comes packed with page after page of optimization tricks. I read thru the entire thing and even this old dog learned a few new tricks.
Download Ultimate PC Secrets
I highly suggest any pc users grab a copy and check it out.

Internet Speed Test Updated

Our wildly popular internet speed test has been updated. This will tell you your upload and download speed very quickly and is the most accurate speed test we know of.
You can even download a copy of our internet speed test, just click here. Now you can test your speed right from your desktop as much as you want, anytime you want. Download Speed Test
Test Your Internet Speed Now

Optimizing Windows Vista Process and Resource Handling

Windows Vista by default installs services and configures several applications which may not suite your needs. If you are a home user rather than in a business environment there are many things you can change to give your computer that little extra oomph for applications and process you use.

I have put together a few items which when set correctly can help you control how resources are used on your system. Some of these items listed will simply uninstall certain features or change a program configuration. Others listed can be used to actually designate what resources are dedicate to individual programs. If used properly this can make specific programs operate faster and more efficiently.

You may or may not wish to implement some or all of these changes as it will be a matter of preference. Please remember you should document any changes made to your system. This well help you reverse any changes made if for any reason you experience adverse effects.

Uninstalling remote differential compression

The remote differential compression feature is designed to streamline file transfers to and from remote directories by keeping track of file changes and only transferring the changed information.

To disable this feature:

Go to “start/control panel/programs/uninstall a program”.

On the sidebar select “turn windows features on and off”.

Uncheck “remote differential compression” and select “ok.”

Designating which CPU (if using multiple processors) runs a specific process

Windows Vista allows you the ability to assign an application to run only on a specific CPU. This is called processor affinity. This is a good way of balancing the load on a multi-core CPU.

Assigning processor affinity to an application:

Launch the desired application.

Press CTRL+ALT+DEL and choose the “task manager”.

In the “applications” tab locate the desired program and right click it. Choose “go to process”.

This will bring you to the “processes” tab with the process used by the application application highlighted. Right click the process and select “set affinity”.

The processor affinity window will open. Using the check box select which processor(s) you want to run that application.

Note: All settings will reset to default when a restart of the computer is performed.

Assigning priority to an application

All recent Microsoft operating systems have contained the concept of priority, meaning in this case, which process gets the most attention from the CPU. In Vista, you can customize these priority settings so that your hardware is concentrating most on what you want it to.

Vista has a range of available settings ranging from “low” to “real time”.

Note: Any full screen application automatically is assigned high priority by Windows Vista.The best way to optimize such applications is to tweak the commonly used windowed applications.

Assigning a custom priority to an application:

Launch the desired application.

Press CTRL+ALT+DEL and choose the “task manager”.

In the “applications” tab locate the desired program and right click it. Choose “go to process”.

This will open the “processes” tab with the process highlighted.

Right click the process and choose “set priority”. The priority list will openand you may designate your desired level.

Note: that choosing “realtime” is not wise as this will designate all processing being alloted to this one specific process. All settings will be reset to default when you restart the computer.

Configuring Windows Defender

Windows Defender by default runs a scan daily. Even though this scan runs in the background it can impact system performance. You may wish to disable the automatic scanning and perform only occasional manual system scans.

Disable Windows Defender automated scans:

Open the “start” menu and in the search field type “defender.”

select the “tools” icon at the top of the window and then “options”.

Uncheck “automatically scan my computer” and select “save”.

This will be the first in a line of articles dedicated to improving performance on Windows Vista. If you have a suggestion of your own that you have implemented and you feel may be beneficial to others please comment on this article. We would be happy to include any viable tips in our next article.

Cleaning your mouse

Your mouse is subject to a lot of wear and tear as it gets used extensively in Windows. One of the things that is most detrimental to mouse performance is dirt. As you move the mouse around, it picks up lint, dust, and other dirt and transfers it into the insides of your mouse where it gradually builds up deposits of this dirt on the rollers and ball inside the mouse. In addition, when you touch your mouse with sweaty or dirty hands, it can develop a sticky coating on its textured surface. Even though this happens only gradually, eventually your mouse will feel pretty nasty to the touch and perform erratically, causing the cursor to jump and stick, and making accurate use of the mouse impossible.
But there’s no reason to throw away your mouse and buy a new one, since you can restore it to almost perfect condition again by taking only ten minutes and giving it a thorough cleaning with some basic household cleaning items. We’ll show you how to turn that filthy rodent back into the precise pointing tool it used to be. But make sure you first shut down your computer and unplug the mouse from the system to be safe.
Look at this filthy rodent

I dug through a box of old used mice at my company and came up with a prime candidate for cleaning. It looks extremely nasty and feels even worse. And that’s only the outside. Let’s take a look at the inside. Turn the mouse over and look at the underside. You should see a circular plastic piece that holds the mouse ball in place. Twist this piece counterclockwise as indicated by the arrows to remove it and the ball.

ATX Power Supply Selection

You should definetly have a look at some computer power supply reviews and how powerful of a power supply you'll need to run your components, before you purchase a power supply for your computer.

When you are ready, I recommend that you purchase computer power supplies here. Computer power supplies are often over-looked when it comes to diagnosing computer problems, slow start ups, and sluggish programs. If you have the latest wiz-bang components, then you'll need a hefty power supply to give them all the juice they'll need!

When looking at computer power supply reviews, have these key features in mind:

Maximum Output - This is the number of Watts that the power supply is advertised to reach. Keep in mind, the higher wattage you go the more power you'll have, but when you start going above 400-450 Watts then you are buying more power than you'll likely ever need.
Efficiency Rating - When you're looking at reviews for a computer power supply, check its efficiency percentage. Most power supplies manufactured today have a 70% or above efficiency rating at full load.
Cooling - The more watts that a computer power supply puts out, the more that its components will heat up. The power supply that you review should have at least one 80 mm fan. If you start getting into the more powerful computer power supplies ( 400 W + ), you should look for one that has atleast two 80 mm fans OR one 120 mm fan.
Power Connectors - The final factor you should consider when looking at computer power supply reviews is the number and type of power connectors that it comes with. At a minimum, your power supply should have: 1 ATX-2.03 Connector, 1 ATX-12V Connector, 1 Floppy 4 Pin Connector, and 4 CD-Rom 4 Pin connectors. Keep in mind these are minimums and you can always buy adaptors to get more connections out of your current power supply

How To Change the Keyboard on A Dell Laptop

It's really easy to change the keyboard on a Dell laptop computer. First, browse the Internet and look for a reputable computer parts retailer. Be sure to select a compatible keyboard for the Dell laptop model that you're using. Keep in mind that the keycaps on the laptop's keyboard are fragile and can easily pop off or become dislodged. So, make certain that you carefully handle the new keyboard while you're installing it on a Dell laptop computer.
Things You'll Need:

Laptop keyboard replacement
Phillips screwdriver
Flat head screwdriver
Instructions:
Step 1:

Disconnect the Dell laptop's AC power cord from the electrical outlet. If you were using the laptop for a length of time, wait at least 15 minutes before opening the case to allow the components to cool down. Wear a protective anti-ESD static wrist strap to help keep yourself and the laptop's components from an electrical static discharge.

Step 2:

Turn the Dell laptop computer over to remove the battery. Release the hinge on the battery and pull it out of the laptop. Flip the laptop back over and open it. Adjust or move the display, so that it is able to rest on a flat surface.

Step 3:

Use a small flat head screwdriver to remove the hinge cover on the Dell laptop. Insert the screwdriver under both ends of the hinges and pry it loose. Carefully lift and remove the hinge cover off of the laptop.

Step 4:

Remove the two screws on top of the keyboard. Use a small Phillips screwdriver to untighten and remove the screws. Set the screws aside and place them in a small container, so that you won't lose them.

Step 5:

Change the old keyboard and replace it with a new one. Lift the keyboard up and slide it out of the grooves on the keyboard assembly. You should see a cable or pull tab that's connected to the motherboard and near the bottom of the keyboard. Pull up on it and then remove it from the motherboard.

Step 6:

Take the new keyboard and lay it on the Dell laptop where you removed the old keyboard. Plug the keyboard's cable into the motherboard.

Step 7:

Push the new keyboard down into the grooves. Make certain that the tabs on the keyboard line up with the grooves on the keyboard assembly. Gently, press the keyboard into place until it lays flat on the Dell laptop.

Step 8:

Replace the two screws on the keyboard that you previously removed. Use the Phillips screwdriver to re-tighten the screws into place.

Step 9:

Replace the hinge cover on the Dell laptop. Press down on the hinge cover, until it snaps back into place on the laptop.

Step 10:

Flip the Dell laptop over and replace the battery. Plug the laptop's AC power cord into an electrical outlet.

Step 11:

Press the “Power on” button on your Dell laptop. Test the keyboard. Press several keys to find out if the new keyboard is working properly.

What You Need To Build A Computer ?

You can build a computer that's affordable, high-quality, and with eye-popping performance like My Super PC! If you're thinking of building your own PC and you'd like to see specific recommendations for components, actual costs, tutorials on how to assemble, help with BIOS and driver settings, what performance results you should expect, and all of this information for free - then you're at the right site! This site is dedicated to help you in building your own computer.
So Welcome! It's good to have you here to share my experiences researching and building My Super PC. The information on these pages should streamline your research and save you hours of time, a fair amount of money, and you'll end up building your own super computer. Although technology changes quickly, I update this site frequently to keep it up-to-date. This site provides:

Free tutorials on how to build a computer from start to finish - from component selection to assembly to testing.
Help in selecting quality, compatible components for building a PC.
The best places to buy top-quality components from reputable resellers at unbeatable prices to use to build your own PC.
Detailed Build A Computer guides providing step-by-step instructions describing how to assemble the computer.
Instructions on configuring BIOS settings and video card drivers to get the most out of your PC.
How to update and upgrade your computer.
PC support help, such as troubleshooting tips for during and after building your computer.
Official and unofficial FAQ's (Frequently Asked Questions) for building a PC.
What benchmark tools to use to measure computer performance.
What diagnostic tools to use to look for computer problems.
What I used to build my computer into a super computer.
In short, everything you need to build a computer.

Introduction

Microsoft Windows is the operating system found on most personal computers. As an operating system Windows manages all that the computer does. Through Window's main screen called the "Desktop" you can get to everything your computer can do. The following tutorials will introduce you to Windows and how to use it.

Icons
		On the desktop screen you will see several small pictures. These pictures are called "Icons." The "My Computer" picture below is an example of an icon. Double clicking the left mouse button on an Icons will start the programs it represents. Another way to start programs is by using the “Start” button.

The "Start" button

The "Start" button is probably the most used part of the Windows Desktop. The start button is where you access all the programs on the computer. When you click on the "Start" button you will be shown a menu of the major computer headings. These headings provide access to the major programs on your computer.

Quick Tip: If the desktop does not show the gray bar with the "Start" button on it, simply move your mouse (cursor) to the bottom edge of the screen and the task bar will appear.

When you click on the "Start" button a menu with options will appear. Moving the mouse over the items in the menu causes them to highlight. Clicking on a highlighted item will open that program. To close the "Start" menu click on the screen anywhere other then the menu.

	Windows has the ability to run several programs at once and to easily switch back and forth between running programs. All programs currently running are shown on the windows "taskbar." The taskbar is a gray bar with pictures on in it that runs across the very bottom of the screen. The taskbar can be recognized by the "Start" button located on its left hand side and the clock on its right. To switch between programs that are running at the same time, click on the program buttons shown on the taskbar. This is demonstrated below.

Adjusting a window's size

How to adjust a window:


Move	Click and hold down the mouse button on the coloured bar at the top of any program window. While holding down the mouse button drag the window to where you would like it on the screen. This cannot be done when a window is open to full screen.

Close	Click on the button marked with an “x.” Clicking on this button stops the program you are using.

Restore	This button will restore a program's window to its original size. The original size of a window is a little bit smaller then full screen.

Maximize	This button opens a program's window so that it fills the screen as much as it can.

Minimize	This button puts a program on hold and places it on the taskbar at the bottom of your screen. To re-open a program that is on the taskbar click on the box which represents the program you want to open. For example the box shown below would represent this tutorial.

Resizing	When the mouse (cursor) is positioned over this part of the program window, a set of arrows appears. When these arrows appear click and hold the mouse button down. You will now be able to stretch the program window in any direction.

The "My Computer" program is a tool that lets you see everything that is stored on your computer. It is useful for finding, organizing and storing files on your computer. Files represent stored information that you have named. Think of "My Computer" as a filing cabinet for your computer. You can open the "My Computer" program by double clicking on the "My Computer" icon on the "desktop" as shown below. Once you have double clicked on the icon, the following window will appear. The icons in the" My Computer" window represent all the drives, folder and files on your computer. The following describes the icons that you will use the most as a new computer user.
	Drives:	Drives are like filing cabinets for computer files. To see what is stored on a drive double click on its icon and a list of files and folders will appear. These files and folders will be arranged alphabetically. To open any of these files double click on them.

		The A: drive icon opens files saved on a floppy disk. You may only open this drive when you have put a floppy disk into the drive slot of the computer.

		The C: drive icon on most home computers represents the hard drive. This is the drive where all the programs that your computer runs are stored. You can also store files that you have created on this drive. If you do not think that the C: drive is your hard drive, look for a drive that has the same picture for an icon.

		The D: drive icon represents the CD-ROM drive. Double clicking on this icon will show you all the files stored on a CD-ROM.

	Folders:	Folders help you organize your files by dividing up a drive into alphabetically organized sections. Double clicking on a folder will open it. Each folder can also hold other folders and files.

	Files:	Files are information stored by a program. For example a file created in "WordPerfect" will be saved with the ending ".wpd." Double clicking on a file will open it.

How Big is your Hard Drive?

ow Big is your Hard Drive?

Find the "My Computer" icon Start menu, and click with your left mouse button. When the window opens it will look something like this one:

The "My Computer" screen shows you different areas of your computer. In the picture, there are icons for the Floppy Drive, The C drive, and the D Drive. Don't worry if yours is not the same. But you'll probably have a D drive icon. There is a CD over the D drive icon, indicating that there is a CD in the disk drive on this computer.

The one we're interested in is the C drive icon. This is the Hard drive. There are two ways you can check your Hard drive to see how big it is. The easiest way is to click once on the C icon with your Left mouse button. The area on the left of the window will change to this:

The "Details" section at the bottom is showing how much space is free on your hard drive. It also shows how big the Hard drive is. GB stand for Gigabytes. So this Hard drive is just over 4 gigabytes. Not very big in today's computer market, where Hard drive ten and twenty times this size are common!

There is another way to check how big your Hard drive is.
Click on the C icon from the My Computer screen. But click on it with your Right mouse button. You'll get a menu similar to the one below.

Click on "Properties with your Left mouse button. You'll get the following dialogue box popping up.

Here, we get a pie chart showing us information about the hard drive: Used Space, Free Space and Capacity (How big your hard drive is). The Capacity is showing 19.0 Gigabytes, Used space 17.9 Gigabytes, and Free space 1.01 Gigabytes.

Click the OK button to get rid of the dialogue box (One click with the left mouse button.)
Get rid of the "My Computer" screen by clicking the red X in the top right hand corner.
What we'll do now is create a folder on the hard drive. But we'll use the Windows Explorer to do it.

How to Create a Desktop Shortcut ?

To create a shortcut to a programme, and display the shortcut on the Desktop, do the following:

Click the Start button on your desktop
From the Start menu, locate the "All Programms" item
Move your mouse to the programme you want to create a shortcut to. In the image below, we've gone for the Home and Learn Web Editor

Right click on the menu item to see a new menu appear:

On this menu, locate the "Send to" item
On the Send to item, Left click on "Desktop (create shortcut)":

When you left click Desktop (create shortcut), a new shortcut appears on your main screen - the Desktop.
Double click your new shortcut to test it out. You should see a new window opening, and the programme will start

Now that you've had a bit of practice with your mouse, we'll move on to exploring the files and folders on your hard drive.

We'll start with the Hard Drive itself.

The Windows XP Desktop

This is the Windows XP Desktop. There are a number of thing to notice about the Desktop. First, all those little pictures on top of the big picture. (Your screen may well be nice and colourful). There are 4 in the image above. The pictures are called icons.
To get some practice with using your mouse, click on each of your Desktop icons. (If you have only one icon, the Recycle Bin, then practice with that for the time being. We'll see how to add shortcuts soon.) Click on them with your Left mouse button, a Single Click. You should notice that the icons change colour, usually blue. When they do change colour, the icon is said to be selected.

Now click on any of your icons with the Right mouse button, again a Single Click. What happens now?

You should see a menu popping up with a list of items on it. The menu pops up because of that Right Click - the Right click is usually a shortcut click. Each icon on your Desktop has a shortcut associated with it. Indeed, the icons themselves are shortcuts. Each picture is associated with a programme on your computer. When you clicked an icon with your left mouse button, the only thing that happened was that it turned a different colour. You had selected it by clicking the icon with your left mouse button.
Now try to double click each icon with the Left mouse button and see what happens. You should find that some sort of software, or programme is launched.
So the desktop icons are shortcuts to your programmes. That's why they are there - so that you can get at your programmes with a Double Click of your left mouse button.

An ADSL Broadband Setup - Without Wireless

In the image below, you'll see a typical scenario of one PC connected to the phone line via a ADSL modem. (ADSL broadband is the one that goes down your BT phone line, if you're in the UK. If you have cable broadband then it won't.)

The image shows a red wire and a blue wire. The red wire goes from the PC to the modem. The blue wire goes from the modem to the phone line. Because it's ADSL, the blue wire first plugs into something called a Filter. The Filter then goes into the phone socket.)
If you request a web page from your computer, the signal goes down the red wire to the modem. It then travels through the blue wire, and down your phone line. The image below shows this (the yellow signal):

When the web page is found on the internet, it is sent down the blue wire, through the modem, then the red wire, and to your PC. Here's a new image:

To go wireless, the bit you get rid of is the ADSL modem (the one on the floor in the image, with the red and blue wires plugged in to it). You'll swap this with something called a Wireless Router. This can have the ADSL modem built in.

An ADSL Broadband Setup - Wireless

In the next image, the red wire is gone. It's wireless! You are requesting a web page from the internet. Notice the yellow signal. Now it doesn't need to travel down the red wire. (It still needs to travel through the blue wire, though.) It travels through the air to the modem (now a ADSL wireless router), and then down the blue wire:

When the web page is found on the internet, the signal travels through the blue wire, and then to the modem (or ADSL wireless router, as we're now calling it). After the modem, the signal travels through the air to your PC.

The great thing about wireless is that the PC doesn't need to be as close to the wireless router as it is in the image above. It can be right across the room, in another room entirely or, if you're really lucky, at the bottom of the garden! There is something else you do need, however, as well as the wireless router - a wireless adaptor. We'll see what these are in the next part.

What is a firewall (and why you need one)?

A firewall is protective barrier between you and the rest of the computers you are connected to. When you go on to the internet you are visible to the outside world. (If you weren't, then there would be no way to get a web page to your browser!) You are visible through something called a port. A port is service available to you. There are many thousands of these ports (services), and each is given a number. The three ports (services) you use most often are the world wide web (port 80), Incoming email (typically port 110), and outgoing email (usually port 25). The idea of a firewall is to close off the ports (services) you're not using. If you don't, then your open ports are an invitation to others to raid your computer! If you only have one piece of security software on your computer then it has to be a firewall. Unless your computer is not connected to the outside world, this is a must-have.

What kind of things can happen if I don't have a firewall?

If you do a fresh install of Windows XP, and leave it unpatched, your computer will be attacked within minutes. You'll be attacked through your open ports, and bombarded with popup messages; Trojans, viruses and worms will be loaded behind your back; Spyware and Malware will clog up your browser. In fact, PC Format magazine recently (issue 194) ran this very experiment. Their unprotected PC was unusable after about 2 and half hours! Having a firewall in place would have prevented some of these attacks. (But not all - XP should have Service Packs 1 and 2 installed before it's allowed on the internet.)
Even if you have all of XP's service packs and updates, not having a firewall means somebody will eventually find an open port on your computer. If they can install a Trojan on to your PC, they'll be able to control it! (See our Trojan section for more details on this topic.)

How Firewalls help protect you

Most firewalls, like the one built into Windows XP, will alert you about suspicious incoming traffic. Anyone trying to gain access to your PC will hit the firewall first. The firewall deflects the attack, and gives you a warning about it. But a good firewall like ZoneAlarm will also warn you about suspicious outgoing traffic (XP's own firewall doesn't do this). So the best firewalls do both - tell you about incoming and outgoing traffic.

The Types of Firewall

For the general user, you can place firewalls into two simple categories: hardware and software. A hardware firewall can be a router that sits between your computer and the outside world. You can plug more computers into the router, and each will be protected by the firewall that's part of the router.
A software firewall is one like ZoneAlarm. You install it on your PC, and it will hide open ports, deflect incoming attacks, and warn you about suspicious outgoing traffic. For added protection, you can have a software firewall on each computer that sits behind the router. An attacker would have to be very determined to get through your router's firewall and your software firewall!

Which firewall should I get?

If you have something like a wireless router then you'll probably already have a firewall. You should check your router's configuration pages to make sure it's turned on. (Some of them are actually turned OFF by default!) Once your router's firewall is turned on, you can install a software firewall on each PC that's connected to the router, just for added protection.
If you're not behind a router, then you need a software firewall. If you have Internet Security software like Kaspersky then it will probably include a firewall as well. You should check, though. If you haven't got any Internet Security software then we highly recommend the free version of ZoneAlarm. This piece of software has been available from ZoneLabs for some time, and has a very good reputation.

What is a RootKit?

A rootkit is a programme, script or set of software tools that allows an attacker full access to your PC or network. By full access, we mean administrator-level access. A rootkit is really the technique for getting harmful things like Trojans, Spyware and Viruses on to a system.

Why are RootKits so dangerous?

The main form of an attack for a rootkit is stealth. They will hide away, deep in the recesses of your computer. Because they have administrator-level access they can do things like hijack your Windows searches and hide any information about the RootKit, control your Anti-Virus software and tell it to ignore the RootKit, hide from the list of active processess. And a whole lot more besides!
The most famous RootKit was one that was installed by some Sony audio CDs. Sony hid a RootKit on people's computer as part of its Digital Rights Managment strategy. This gave them effective control of a user's PC. A security expert called Mark Russinovich (of Sysinternals) discovered the Sony RootKit, and it made the news the world over. Sony had to issue a download so that people get the RootKit off their computers. They also recalled all the music CDs that had the RootKit software.
It's the fact that RootKits are so difficult to detect that makes them dangerous.

How do I know if I'm infected?

With great difficulty is the answer to this one! Don't expect your Anti-Virus software to help you out here. The very best RootKits can easily defeat Anti-Virus software, so you need a specialist tool for this job. There's a really good website that explains in more detail just what a RootKit is. They also have links to some free RootKit Detection tools.

All about Spam

What is Spam?

It's a rare computer user who hasn't been bothered by Spam at some stage. By Spam, we mean unsolicited emails that try to sell you things of a dubious nature that you certainly didn't ask for and, in all probability, don't need. Everybody hates spam. It can clog up your email box, threaten the security of your PC, try to trick you into opening dangerous attachments, and even render the mail box entirely unusable. Here at Home and Learn, we've had to close down many email addresses due to spam. (We've only ever met one person who liked spam. This was a pensioner, new to email, who complained that something was blocking her advertisments. She wanted to know how she could get them back!)

How do the spammers get hold of my email address?

Spam can come from a wide variety of sources, and the spammers have many techniques to get hold of your email address. Here's just a few:
> From a web page
If you have ever posted to an online, public forum, and left your email address on the page, then it will almost certainly end up in the hands of the spammers. If you have your own website, and include your email address in plain text, then that will also get stolen by the spammers. In fact, anywhere on the web where you leave your email address is a source for the spammers. If you can see it, so can they.
The way they get the address is by something called harvesting. This is done with a piece of software called a Spider. The sole job of the Spider is to trawl through website looking for email addresses. Once the spammer has enough addresses, he (they are usally "he's") can sell them to third parties, and other spammers.
> From an infected PC.
A lot of viruses these days contain code to trawl through your email address book. These will then be sent to the spammer. If you have sent an email to somebody who is infected, and that person has you in his/her address book, then your address will be sent to the spammer.
> From YOUR infected PC
If you have a virus, the chances are that it will contain code to control your email. It will then contact another computer and receive a list of instructions, and email addresses. These instruction say something like, "Send the following email to this list of addresses". Your PC won't be sending out thousands of emails, but just a few. This is because your PC is just one of many thousand that are controlled by the same spammer (called a botnet). If your computer sends out just, say, 100 emails a day, then 100 times 1000 computers that the spammer controls totals 100,000 emails a day. If the spammer controls 10,000 computers then that's a million emails a day he can send out!
> Trial and Error
if you have an email address based on your name, and if your name is quite a common one, then the spammer will simply send out email trying to guess the first part. For example, suppose the end of your email address was "smith.co.uk" And you added "John" to the start, your email address would be easy to guess, and you'd have a very busy inbox indeed! If it was "john12_KJ876@smith.co.uk", it's unlikely the spammers could guess the first part.

Worst case scenarios

If your computer is infected, there could be another nasty side-effect - YOU get banned! Because your computer has been indentifed as sending out spam, you may well receive a message from your service provider telling you that your account has been suspended. You then have to go to the trouble of contacting your service provider, telling them that you're not a spammer, and asking what to do to get off their "bad books".
A more likely scenario is that your email gets bounced back to you by someone like SpamCop. The email will identify your IP address, and let you know that you're on a blacklist. SpamCop will keep you on the blacklist until it receives no more spam from your IP address in a 24 hour period. (It may not be your IP address but the address of your email servers. In which case, there's nothing you can do about it but notify your service provider. Your service provider will then totally ignore your call, and heap the blame on you!)

How to Defeat Spam

You can defeat spam (well, most of it). Here's a few ways.

Don't post your email address on a web page, unless you're disguising it in some way. As an example, an email address in this format is very difficult for a Spider to read, but quite easy for a human:

firstBit @ co. uk. homeandlearn (re-arange the ending)

Be wary of giving your email address to websites. Ask yourself, is there a privacy statement anywhere on the site? (Ours is here Privacy Policy) Can you easily opt-out if they send an email or newsletter to you? Do you trust them?

Never reply to a email sent to you by a spammer. If you do, you're telling the spammer that the email address is live and active - the very thing that he was looking for! (Remember: the spammer probably bought his list off someone else, and has no idea whether an address is active or not.)

Careful when opening attachments. Save the attachment to your hard-drive first, scan with your (up-to-date) Anti Virus software, and only then consider opening it. If you weren't expecting an email with an attachment, it's safer to just delete the entire email!

Set your email software to view message as text and NOT as HTML. In Outlook Express you can do this by clicking Tools > Options from them menu bar. From the Options dialogue box, click the Read tab. Put a tick in the box "Read all messages in plain text". The reason you'd want to do this is because HTML emails can be very helpful to spammers. They insert an image that tells them the email has been read, and thus that it's a live email box.

Consider getting some Anti-Spam software. The best of these are very good at detecing spam from the genuine emails. Here's two that Computer Shopper recommended in a recent review. (Dec 2006)
- Allume SpamCatcher 4
- Cloudmark

These both got 5 stars out of 5 in the review. The second one is only for Outlook or Outlook Express users. (Mcafee anti-spam got 4 stars out of 5, incidentally, and Norton only got 2!)

A good free anti-spam solution is SpamPal. This got 4 out of 5 stars, but Computer Shopper noted that it was a bit "clunky to set up".

But we recommend you start with the free software first, and test it out. If it's not catching at least 90% of spam coming in, then uninstall it and try something else!

How to get Rid of Spyware

As a computer owner, you really need your wits about you in the Spyware detection game. So what are you to do if you can't even trust the very people who say they are going to help you clean your PC? Well, you can fight back! The best way to do that is with software from very reputable companies. The following are the most well-known (and free) anti-spyware solutions:

Ad-Aware is probably the easiest to use of the three. SpyBot is good, but a bit complex for beginners. Microsoft Windows Defender is well worth getting, too. However, it's not the easiest piece of software in the world to use. You do get some good tools with it, though. Check out the websites by clicking the links above (there's a tutorial on the Microsoft site for Windows Defender).
Once you download your chosen anti-spyware solution, you need to install it on to your PC. After you have installed it, start the software and do a full scan of your computer. (Ad-Aware has a nice big button that says "Scan"!)
Unlike anti-virus software, it IS recommended that you have more than one anti-spyware solution on your PC. This is because spyware can be very difficult to get rid of, and anti-spyware software will rarely find 100 percent of threats. By having more than one solution, what one piece of anti-spyware programme misses, the other should (hopefully) pick it up.

What is Spyware?

Broadly speaking, Spyware is something that sneaks on to your computer, usually with the intentions of extracting money from you. At its worst, Spyware can take control of your computer, directing you to web pages you didn't want to go to, downloading other nasty stuff in the background, and even harvesting email address, passwords and your credit card details. But even a mild case of Spyware infection can be nuisance.
If you've ever been plagued by annoying pop-ups when your computer loads, or have strange new icons where your clock is (bottom right, called the System Tray), or if you're directed to a strange webpage when you try to go on to the internet, then you may well be infected.
Spyware, in the main, gathers information about you and your online habits, and sends that information to third party. And all without asking for your permission!

Where does Spyware come from?

Spyware can come from a whole host of different sources. But Spyware mainly gets on to your PC through deception. For example, suppose you receive email:

You'd assume that this email was sent to you in error. Can you resist clicking on the link? After all, what harm can it do? Well, a lot actually! There well may be a joke on the site, but there's something less funny going on in the background - the web page is trying to sneak something on to your PC! You may also have seen a harmless-looking popup window asking you to click a button to proceed. You'll click it anyway, just to get rid of it. Clicking OK is what's infected your PC!

Other sources of Spyware infection are freeware or shareware software, an operating system that is un-patched and hasn't got the latest security software, downloading stuff from peer-to peer applications - the list is long!
And don't think your Anti-Virus software will protect you - it won't! Spyware is not considered to be a virus, so your Anti-Virus software won't spring in to action once an infection takes place - it will stay sleeping in the background, unaware that anything malicious is going on. The best tool for the job is a dedicated Spyware Detection system.

1 ECDL - Beginners Certificate

If you're in Europe, the ECDL is a good first qualification for those who have no computer experience at all, and are just getting started. It is a basic qualification which tells an employer that you are IT literate. It will also demonstrate that you are keen to learn. Don't expect a high-paying job with this qualification; use it as an entry-level certificate that you can build on.
If you just want to make a start with computers, and don't particularly want a job in computers, gaining an ECDL certificate can be a real boost to your confidence.
A lot of ECDL training can be had for free in the UK, if you're on certain state benefits.

ECDL - What's involved?

The ECDL qualification consists of one theory test, and 6 practical ones. A Skills card, known as a log book, is issued to the student. Once a test is passed, the log book gets updated. When all 7 tests are passed, your get the ECDL.
For Module 1, you need 27 out of 36 multiple choice questions correct for a pass. For the other 6 modules, you need 24 out of 32.
An example question, taken from Module One for the 2003 test, is this:

Q. Which software would you use to create a mail shot letter

a) Web browsing software
b) Spreadsheet software
c) Accounting software
d) Word processing software

The other 6 modules are in a similar vein, but you are asked to perform tasks while at the test centre. In the word processing exam, for example, there will be a document that you have to open and make changes to. Each successful change might be worth one mark. If you get 24 marks out of 32 then you'll have passed that module.

The seven modules are these:

Concepts in Information Technology
Using the Computer and Managing Files
Word Processing
Spreadsheets
Database
Presentation
Information and Communication

If you wanted to save a bit of money, you could buy an ECDL book, study it for a few months, and then book a test at your nearest ECDL test centre. Each test lasts for 45 minutes, though, so you're not going to be sitting all seven exams in one go!
If you'd rather not learn alone, then there will probably be a training organisation close to where you live that does the ECDL qualification. Shop around and you may get some free training! (The exams won't be free, however.)

Introducing the Ultrabook

Did you expect the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show to go gaga over tablets? While tablets remain hot, they're old news. Meet the new darling: the ultrabook. What is an ultrabook?
Here's what it's not:

It's not a fancy eBook reader dressed up like a laptop
It's not a cheap netbook
It's not a supercomputer in a smaller chasis

An ultrabook is more like the more affordable, Windows version of Apple's super-thin MacBook Air. Instead of a traditional hard disk and long boot times, ultrabooks feature flash storage and lightning fast load times – 10 seconds or less.
Expected to be priced in the $1,000 range, ultrabooks aren't necessarily going to win the hearts of consumers. Tablet computers have made netbooks virtually obsolete. With netbooks out of the equation, ultrabooks compete primarily with tablets, laptops, and the MacBook Air. Consumers in the market for tablets, aren't likely to be attracted to an ultrabook. Meanwhile, die-hard Apple fans aren't likely to switch back to Windows. That leaves the ultrabook's biggest competitor the humble but reliable laptop. Considering most electronics retailers offer a variety of well-equipped laptops in the $300-$500 range, ultrabooks will need to bring a huge "wow" factor and include enough must-have features to entice consumers to accept the price bump.
Will weight, a thin profile, and fast load times be enough?

Free Articles and Tutorials on PC Repair and Maintenance

Check out our assortment of free DIY computer repair articles that includes a wide range of topics relating to computer repairs. These articles are intended to enhance your knowledge and help you in your everyday career as a PC tech professional. Even if you are not a PC tech professional, these various DIY PC repair articles offer helpful tips and methods to fixing computers, diagnosing them and interesting industry news. Our DIY computer repair articles range from topics on backup software, networking, troubleshooting tips, printers, hard drive software and everything else relating to computer repair. Besides our quality products these DIY PC repair articles are meant to help you become better familiar with the methods used to fix computers, as well as provide you with the latest news within the IT industry. We hope you enjoy these articles and make sure to check back regularly to see new ones.

Computer Diagnostic Kits .

If you need computer diagnostic software, count on ProTech Diagnostics to provide you with complete diagnostics solutions. Whether you need to troubleshoot malfunctioning hardware or want to use pc diagnostic software as a routine process for inventorying and testing incoming computers, you’ll find that ProTech Diagnostics features reliable, easy-to-use tools. These tools are easy enough for do-it-yourself computer users to use, yet filled with features appreciated and needed by professional computer repair technicians. ProTech Diagnostics offers computer diagnostics kits and tools designed for making the jobs of computer technicians as easy as possible. Spend less time swapping hardware in an attempt to diagnose the problem and more time on satisfying your customers. Armed with PC diagnostics, you can quickly determine which component has failed and immediately get to work repairing it.

How to Set Up a Wireless Network ?

Today i tell you how to set up a wireless network .
Because setting up a wireless network requires an understanding of the systems that will make up that network, using pc diagnostics on each system before you begin is smart. For example, do you know the specifications for each computer? While it's not overly difficult to manually inventory each computer, computer diagnostic software can do it for you automatically with just a click of a button. Once an inventory has been generated for each computer, you can then print your inventories out and quickly see potential problems.
For example, you might realize that some of the computers run Windows XP while others run Windows Vista, Windows 7, or even Macintosh. You may also notice that some computers have wireless network adapters while others do not. You may even discover that some of the older network adapters do not support the wireless standard that your new wireless network will be running on.
Armed with this knowledge, you can prepare for the network set up. You may need to run down to the computer shop and buy a few wireless adapters. You may want to upgrade the operating systems of a few of the PCs to ensure compatibility. By running computer repair software beforehand, you can make these decisions and adjustments before setting up the network.
Once you've run the diagnostic computer repair software and know what you're dealing with, you can then start planning the network design. You'll need a wireless network router and compatible wireless network adapters for each computer. The router physically connects to your broadband Internet connection, so place it near your cable modem or DSL outlet. Initially, you will need to connect a computer to the router using a cable in order to configure the network. This is temporary. Once the network is set up, you can untether the computer and work wirelessly from that point forward.
During the configuration process, you'll use Internet Explorer to access the router. Use the documentation that came with your router for the specific address and password. For example, if you have a Linksys router, you'll enter “http://192.168.1.1” into Internet Express's address bar and use the username of “admin” and the password of “admin” in order to access the router's configuration interface.
While the specific steps will vary, the process is similar. You'll need to give your wireless network a name in the SSID field, choose an encryption type and passphrase, and set an administrative password.
Once the basic configuration has been set up, the next step is to connect the computers to the network. Assuming the network adapters have been installed and are turned on, turn on each computer and connect each one to the network individually. Do this by going to Start > Connect To and then selecting the network from the list. You'll be prompted to enter the passphrase you specified earlier. That's it. Your network has been set up.
If any of the computers have problems connecting to the new wireless network, check to make sure that their network adapters are turned on and consider using computer diagnostics to rule out problems with the wireless network adapter.

How to Install a Power Supply ?

If a computer won't start or computer diagnostic software indicates that the power supply is problematic, installing a new power supply may be your only option. Fortunately, this is one of the easier computer repair tasks to do. Plus, since the problem originates in the power supply, data loss isn't likely. Similarly, if you are building a new computer, you'll need to install all of its components including the power supply. In either case, the steps are primarily the same with the main difference being the removal of the old power supply in an existing system.
If you've previously computer hardware diagnostics tools to inventory your system and have a printout handy, take that along to the computer repair store so that you can select the right power supply for your system. If you don't have a printout, the computer technician should be able to help you select a compatible component.
Because you'll be dealing with an electrical component, following all safety precautions is necessary. Make sure that the computer is completely unplugged from its power source. If you're working on an existing system, your original power supply could retain a charge even if it's not plugged in, so treat it with care.
After disconnecting the power, remove all jewelry and gather your tools. Unscrew the screws holding the case together and carefully remove the case. Place the screws in a safe location. Find the existing power supply and unbolt it as well as disconnect the cables attached to the motherboard and other devices. Slide the power supply out of the unit.
To install the new power supply, you'll want to first look at the back of the power supply unit to make sure its voltage switch is in the correct position for your country. Once the voltage switch is confirmed to be in the correct position, slide the unit into position and attach the cables to the motherboard and other devices such as CD-ROM drives. If you overlook an internal device, it won't have power and will not run, so make sure to pay close attention to all of the devices inside your system. Once all of the power connections have been made, align the unit in the mounting bracket so that you can bolt it into place.
Reassemble the computer case, plug in the system, and power on your computer. You can test individual components to make sure that they're receiving power or you can use computer diagnostic software to run a quick system-wide hardware test. If the system passes all of the computer hardware diagnostics tests, then your installation is complete. While it's not necessary to use computer diagnostic software as a final step, it's useful for making sure that your installation was a complete success.

How to setup static ip address in CentOS 6

Go to /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts and edit with your favorite editor ifcfg-eth0 ( in this example my interface is ifcfg-eth0 )

vi /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-eth0

DEVICE=”eth0″
BOOTPROTO=”dhcp”
HWADDR=”00:0C:29:EB:C4:57″
IPV6INIT=”yes”
NM_CONTROLLED=”yes”
ONBOOT=”yes”
TYPE=”Ethernet”
UUID=”be5349a9-78cb-4d5b-ba02-f9d01c42d7ab”
Change BOOTPROTO=”dhcp” to BOOTPROTO=”static”

Under UUID add the following
IPADDR=192.168.1.10
NETMASK=255.255.255.0
save and exit ifcfg-eth0
Now do the following to configure Default Gateway , edit /etc/sysconfig/network

vi /etc/sysconfig/network

NETWORKING=yes
HOSTNAME=localhost
GATEWAY=192.168.1.1
Restart ifcfg-eth0 and network

service network restart
ifdown ifcfg-eth0
ifup ifcfg-eth0

Basic installation of Apache Server on CentOS

Installing Apache 2.2.15 HTTP Server on CentOS 6

yum install httpd

chkconfig httpd on (or instead of on you can type ) chkconfig –level 235 httpd on (httpd apache will now run on runlevel 2,3,5 every time you boot)

chkconfig | grep httpd (Let’s be sure that httpd will run on runlevel 2,3,5) httpd 0:off 1:off 2:on 3:on 4:off 5:on 6:off

cat /etc/sysconfig/iptables (check your iptables and make sure that port 80 tcp is open) -A INPUT -m state –state NEW -m tcp -p tcp –dport 80 -j ACCEPT

service start httpd (start httpd)

Open your browser and type your localhost 127.0.0.1 and you should see Apache Test Page

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