Monday, June 28, 2010

Trojan Scan: Few Things that You Should Know

You have already heard a lot about Trojans. Your computer may have got infected with this at some point of time as well. But how does this work? How can you prevent it? Let’s find it out.

For the Trojan to work, it must get implanted to your computer first. An email worm or a hidden executable in an mp3 song or a free game or a picture might have this malicious software program, known as a Trojan. A Trojan mainly consists of two programs – one is the client program, which is used by the hacker to control the host or the victim computer, while the other is the server software. The client program is installed in the hacker’s computer and the server program is installed on your computer (the host).

This server program provides vital information to the client program and every time you start the computer, the server program gets auto-started.Besides the anti-Trojan software, there are also other software that actually scans open ports, which are generally used by Trojans. Interestingly, there is a Trojan Simulator available, which acts like a Trojan but is supposed to be risk-free. If installed, this tests how good your security software is. Trojan Simulator also checks it out whether your security software is able to detect Trojans or not.

Be it a Trojan Simulator or a Trojan malware, it works on the following factors:

  1. File Fingerprinting: A unique fingerprint that is generally detected by the security software. In order to avoid detection, it is packed with a UPX file packer to reduce its size.


  2. In-memory Fingerprinting: In the memory, after the Trojan server is loaded, the program code remains in unpacked form, which gives the security software a good opportunity to detect the malware.


  3. The Trojan server software generally creates an entry in the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run. Hence, this entry is required to be checked.
Either you download the anti-Trojan software or install it from a CD, you need to configure it first (if such an option is available). It should always run in the background while you are doing your work, but at the same time, it should not slow down the overall performance of the computer.

Source: Mytechsupportstore.com

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

World banding together to boost Cybersecurity

As governments around the world amass armies of hackers to protect their countries' computer networks and possibly attack others, the idea of getting officials together to discuss shared threats such as cybercrime is challenging.

"You just don't pick up the phone and call your counterparts in these countries," said retired Lt. Gen. Harry Raduege Jr., former head of the federal agency responsible for securing the military's and the president's communications technologies. "They're always guarded in those areas, and they're always wondering if there's some other motive" behind the outreach.

So the idea behind an international security conference in Dallas this week is to get government officials, industry executives and others talking, informally, about where they might find common ground.

The Worldwide Cybersecurity Summit, organized by the EastWest Institute think tank, is different from some other big security conferences in that the focus isn't on hackers showing off their latest research or security-technology vendors connecting with customers.

"It's reaching across the table," said Raduege, who is honorary chair of the conference. "It's not official U.S. policy that's going to be put out there, but it's an opportunity to exchange ideas of the possible."

Scheduled speakers include Howard Schmidt, the White House's cybersecurity coordinator, as well as other influential cybersecurity officials from the European Union, Canada, Japan, India and China. Also on the agenda are the CEOs of AT&T Inc. and computer maker Dell Inc. and executives from Microsoft Corp. and Huawei Technologies Co., China's biggest maker of
telecommunications equipment.

Dialogue among them is important as concerns rise about computer warfare between nations and the potential damage that can be caused from computer attacks.

As more computers get connected to the Internet -- Intel Corp. estimates there are 1 billion PCs worldwide on the Web -- they're used for more sensitive things, such as online banking and even remotely controlling critical infrastructure, such as power plants.

Underscoring the threats: recent attacks on Google Inc. that caused the Internet search leader to move its search engine out of mainland China, and the revelation last year that spies hacked into the U.S. electric grid and left behind computer programs that would let them disrupt service.

The Worldwide Cybersecurity Summit, which runs Monday through Wednesday, is substantially smaller than other security conferences.

lthough more than 400 government officials and industry executives from 30 countries were expected to attend, that pales in comparison with the thousands who have attended the annual Black Hat and DefCon conferences in Las Vegas, which focus on hackers' demonstrations of their latest research.

Still, Dmitri Alperovitch, vice president of threat research at computer-security software maker McAfee Inc., said the conference "has a lot of potential because of the stakeholders that are involved."

"I think it's going to be a first step," said Alperovitch, who is participating on a panel talk on national security. "Right now we have situations where many countries are speaking past each other. The Google attacks are a great example of that. That's just not productive or helpful to any country, and I think having a frank and open conversation between all parties is critical."

Source: foxnews.com

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Desktop Computer and Laptops


This is one question that asked many people. "Should we get a desktop or laptop?" It’s depending on your requirement. Desktop and Laptop both are same computer.
For and unfortunately, most uses may require the power of a desktop pc. I will list some of the more common uses of a pc and discuss the specs needed.

Office Uses:
Mostly use in office like Microsoft Word, Excel, etc. We also use for mail checking, store data and use like small server. This type of computer have not heavy requirement for extra use. You have able to handle very easy that type of any new desktop or laptop.


Multimedia Applications Uses:

laptops are mostly used for listening to music or watching movies. The only times that it will not be adequate is if you want better components like a much larger and better screen resolution and better sound quality. If you want high resolution viewing, you can connect a laptop to another separate monitor but then you might not be able to go with a higher resolution because of your graphics hardware on the laptop. Also, your sound options are very limited with laptops. All laptops use onboard cards that are adequate for most uses but for the highest sound quality, you will not have it and your external component options are very limited. For desktops, you have a wide range of choices for internal PCI slot upgrades. To sum it up, for high resolution and high definition audio, you may have to go with desktops.

PC Games:
Here I am not talking free in build games in your computer or laptop Solitaire or any other simple game. We are talking about PC Games like Counterstrike, Crysis, Sins of a Solar Empire etc. If you want batter playing of pc games then you have required heavy hardware it will depend on the graphics hardware.

Multimedia Encoding:
If you are looking any video or audio production and encoding, you better go with desktops. You will need lots of hard drive space and most laptops do not have choices for very large drives. You will also need a very good processor and a powerful video card will help too.
The most important are computer installation with Latest OS.

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

latest Features of an Operating System

I will introduce some latest operating system features and what are the features that a particular operating system should have used. Some of these features are a part of all operating systems, while some of them may or may not be available in the computer operating system you are using.So I will give you online computer support 24x7 every time.

Managing Hardware/Software
As already know, it is the operating system that causes the software and hardware in a computer to interact with each other. It is also the platform that causes one software in the computer to communicate with another. Once the computer operating system in a computer loads during the booting up process, other application software’s can be loaded into the computer.

Consistent Application Program Interface
Application Program Interface which software development peoples refer to as APIs allow the applications those run on one computer to run on another computer having the same computer operating system. It is important that the operating system has a consistent API. Undoubtedly, every operating system will have deferent type’s requirements, but it should be enough to support computer hardware’s.

Program Execution
The operating system to execute all the types of computer programs running in it. It is a rather more complicated process. It allows to multitasking and allows different programs to run at the same time and share the many types of computer system resources. Here, it requires allotting RAM space to different computer applications running on the computer. The execution of more than one program may also require the computer operating system to prioritize the operations running on the computer system.

Memory Management
we already defined in the part on program execution, it is up to the computer operating system to provide memory to the different programs running on the computer system. It has to prioritize and allocate memory to each application. Even when data is saved in a secondary storage device, it is the computer operating system that decides how that particular chunk of information should be stored.

Networking
Computers need to communicate with each other via networking. A computer without Internet is not even imaginable. It is the task of the computer operating system to provide the required networking features. It allow to you used two or more computers to connect and form a network or connect to the Internet. More on computer networking.

Security
Computer system security that an operating system should provide is undoubtedly one of its most important features. We used passwords setting for logging in, to providing firewall protection; everything comes under the tasks of an operating system. Many network utilities may require printer sharing, file sharing and using TCP/IP protocols. Hence, it becomes very important for the computer operating system to provide proper security so that the computer's security is not compromised in such cases.

Monday, March 15, 2010

Online Technical Support for Computer Troubleshooting

pc setup
From past few days, I was facing several technical issues with my computer like, blue screen error, system slow down, applications taking long time in launching, system crash, etc. I decided to contact iYogi Technical Services for troubleshooting my computer related technical issues, and one of its tech experts resolved my problems in few minutes via remote connection.
Features
Numerous services are offered through online technical support for troubleshooting computers. These services include resolving Internet browsing issues, troubleshooting software and hardware errors, configuration of many applications like Office suite, e-mail, PC optimization, software installation, re-installation and un-installation, Windows upgrade, resolving registry issues, diagnostic and repair services for hardware and software, spyware and virus removal, driver update, etc.
All these services are offered anytime and anywhere. It means you can access online services from any location, provided you have an Internet connection.
Usability
Computer troubleshooting via remote connection offers many benefits like cost effectiveness, availability, instant access, etc. In online technical support, a tech expert accesses your PC via remote connection, after getting your permission. Once he gets access on your system, he starts diagnosing it for finding out the possible causes behind the technical issues.
After completion of diagnosing process, tech expert will carry out the necessary steps to root out your technical issues. In this way, process of computer troubleshooting via online support gets completed.
Limitations
Online technical support offers many benefits as compared to on-site support. In on-site support, you either have to take your system to any service centre, or you have to call any technician at your premises. If you will take your system to any service centre, it would take three to four days in troubleshooting your computer. If you will call any technician at your home, then you have to pay extra for the services.
Therefore, it is wise to go for online tech support to resolve the issues related to computer troubleshooting.

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Windows 7 File Recovery Software & Tools for Recovering Lost Data

windows 7 remote desktop
Features
There may be manual fault or some unavoidable circumstances related with technical issues, when you lost your important home or business files (such as MS Word, MS PowerPoint, MS Excel, Bkf, Zip), e-mails, photos, music and other rare things.
Although this happens very rarely, but the data once lost can take long time to recover or may be not be recovered at all, so there should be adequate management for data backup to assure that you access important files and folders anytime.
You would be considering me too much obscene, but I have suffered from data lost on my Windows 7 computer recently, that’s why I want to discuss with you about some important data recovery methods for Windows 7 and you must add the data recovery agent.
First I want to tell you about prevention, because it is an old saying that “prevention is better than cure”. As you do Ctrl+S with your word document every time to ensure it is saved regularly, similarly you should make a practice to take data backup of your hard drive memory on an external hard disk or other optical device, which can be used to combat such situations.
Next, when you are trapped under the situation and you don’t left with much of options, then Windows 7 recovery software is a better alternative. Some of the best recovery software available in the market are Stellar Phoenix Windows Data Recovery v4.1, Advance Windows 7 Data Recovery Software and Recover My Files data recovery software.

Usability
Windows 7 data recovery software can effectively restore or recover entire data of your hard disk including deleted files emptied from the Windows Recycle Bin, or lost due to the format or corruption of a hard drive, infection with computer viruses, and unexpected system shutdown or software failure. You can also recover your data, which is located in corrupted partition, such asFAT12, FAT16, FAT32, NTFS & NTFS5 of Windows 7 based hard drive. Windows 7 data recovery software are also compatible enough for recovering data from other types of data storage media such as floppy drives, flash drives, USB digital media, pen drive, zip drive, memory stick, multimedia card, secure digital card & many more.
Limitation
Data recovery is not possible with Windows 7 Recovery tools if it has been physically overwritten by low level disk format. You may face issues while recovering files located on hard disk which is well encrypted.

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

How to Reinstall Windows XP Without Losing Your Data

Windows XP is an operating system produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, and media centers. It was released in 2001 and has been the most popular operating system all over the world.
If your computer is not working properly then, you might need to repair or format your computer. Repairing a computer will fix the corrupt operating system, and it will not delete your data. Follow these steps to repair Windows XP computer without any data loss:
Step 1: Firstly, you need to insert the XP CD into CD drive and restart your computer. As computer shuts down, keep pressing DELETE to enter the BIOS setup. In the BIOS setup, set the 'First Boot device' to CD-ROM and exit saving these settings.

Step 2: Now, your Windows XP computer will restart and a message will appear saying 'press any key to boot from CD'. Press space bar or any other key to continue.

Step 3: Next, you have to wait for few minutes as setup will inspect your hardware and Windows on computer. Setup will also load some necessary files to repair the Windows XP computer.

Step 4: Now you have to press F8 to accept the Windows XP license agreement, and then you have to select the drive which you want to repair. There may be more that 1 drives in some cases, then you can select the drive by using UP/DOWN arrow keys to select the drive which you wish to repair.

Step 5: Now, setup will examine the drive which you have selected and will go through 1 to 100% and a new window will appear on screen, hit F3 to continue and setup will reboot the Windows XP computer.

If you follow the above steps, you can repair your computer without any data loss.