Computer Tips, Building Picture, HandPhone Tips

1. Printer tidak dapat mencetak
Ada beberapa kemungkinan yang dapat menyebabkan printer tidak dapat mencetak. Anda dapat
mulai untuk memeriksa hal-hal berikut:

1. Periksa koneksi printer dengan jaringan listrik. Pastikan kabel power printer telah
dicolokkan ke konektor (stop kontak) listrik dengan sempurna.

2. Pastikan saklar “on-off” printer atau tombol switch printer dalam posisi “on”. Permasalahan
yang diakibatkan oleh tidak adanya power untuk printer ini biasanya ditandai dengan tidak
menyalanya LED (lampu indikator) dari printer tersebut, selama printer menggunakan LED
untuk indikator power.

3. Periksa sambungan kabel data printer, apakah sudah terhubung dengan port pararel / port
USB di komputer dengan benar.

4. Cobalah untuk menggunakan kabel data printer yang lain (pinjam teman) sebagai
percobaan. Pernah terjadi kasus yang diakibatkan oleh putusnya tembaga dari salah satu
kabel data di tengah -tengah kabel sehingga data dari komputer tidak dapat sampai ke
printer.

5. Apabila anda menggunakan sistem operasi Microsoft Windows, dan anda menggunakan
printer yang terhubung ke port pararel di komputer anda, coba jalankan perintah yang dicetak tebal berikut ini di jendela MSDOS Prompt:

6. C:\>dir >>LPT1

7. Maksud dari perintah diatas adalah untuk membelokkan hasil tampilan perintah “dir”
(perintah untuk penampilkan daftar isi dari suatu direktori) dari yang seharusnya ke monitor
namun dialihkan ke port pararel komputer.

8. Pastikan anda telah melakukan instalasi driver untuk printer tersebut.

9. Pastikan anda telah memilih driver yang tepat untuk printer yang anda gunakan.

10. Pastikan anda telah memilih port yang tepat untuk printer anda. Lihat opsi ini melalui menu
printer poperties.

11. Coba gunakan aplikasi teks editor standard untuk sistem operasi anda untuk mencetak
sesuatu (misalnya notepad). Jika aplikasi teks editor anda dapat mencetak, maka kemungkinan besar kesalahan bukan pada printer anda.

12. Cobalah untuk merubah setting printer anda menjadi “Default Printer” atau cobalah untuk
melakukan instalasi ulang driver untuk printer anda dengan nama printer yang lain dan ubahlah instalasi baru tersebut sebagai “Default Printer”.

13. Pastikan anda memiliki space hardisk yang mencukupi. Kadang jika buffer tidak cukup
maka data tidak dapat dikirim ke printer dengan sempurna.

14. Cobalah untuk merubah setting “spooler” untuk printer anda melalui menu properties
printer. Fitur “spooler” ini digunakan dengan tujuan agar anda tetap dapat menjalankan
aplikasi ketika dilakukan pencetakan dokumen.

15. Cek apakah ada resource yang konflik dengan port yang digunakan oleh printer anda.
Gunakan bantuan “hardware troubleshooter” apabila terjadi konflik.

Kasus ini mungkin juga disebabkan oleh port komputer anda yang bermasalah. Untuk
mengetahuinya, apabila langkah-langkah diatas sudah anda lakukan namun tidak menemukan “titik terang”, cobalah untuk memindah koneksi port printer anda ke port lain (misal USB1 ke USB3) atau cobalah printer anda di komputer lain.


2. Printer kelihatan mencetak, namun tidak ada sesuatu yang tertulis diatas kertas
Kasus ini umumnya disebabkan oleh kosongnya tinta atau toner printer atau habisnya karbon yang ada di pita printer anda . Cobalah untuk mengganti tinta, toner atau pita printer dengan yang baru. Jangan lupa untuk memeriksa apakah ada sesuatu yang menghalangi head dengan kertas (misalnya plastik segel pada printer baru). Ada kasus pada printer yang menggunakan tinta, dimana tinta yang masih berada di head printer telah kering karena printer lama tidak digunakan sehingga terjadi penyumbatan. Khusus untuk printer yang headnya dapat dilepas dengan mudah, masalah ini kadang dapat diselesaikan dengan cara yang sederhana berikut:

1. Lepaskan head dan catridge dari printer.

2. Pisahkan catridge tinta dari head.

3. Pastikan anda tidak memegang -megang rangkaian elektronik yang ada disekitar head printer
yang telah anda lepas karena dapat merusakkannya.

4. Ambil air panas, tuangkan dalam mangkok.

5. Celupkan ujung head ke dalam air panas yang ada dalam mangkok. Perhatikan jangan
sampai air menyentuh rangkaian elektronika yang ada di sekitar head karena dapat
merusakkannya.

6. Goyang -goyangkan head tersebut hingga tinta yang ada di dalam head mencair.

7. Ulangi langkah pencelupan (4 hingga 6) diatas dengan air panas yang baru hingga air panas
yang baru tetap bening (tidak terkontaminasi tinta yang keluar dari head).

8. Keringkan head dengan kain yang halus hingga benar-benar kering.

9. Satukan kembali catridge tinta dengan head. Disarankan untuk menggunakan catridge yang
masih baru.

10. Pasang kembali head dan catridge ke printer dan cobalah untuk mencetak. Untuk memudahkan pemahaman , ilustrasi berikut adalah gambaran langkah ke 4 hingga langkah ke
6 dari petunjuk diatas:

Kita sering mendengar istilah “overburning”, namun mungkin masih banyak dari kita yang masih merasa asing, atau malah tidak tahu maksud dari istilah tersebut. Overburning merupakan proses pembakaran keping disc, baik CD maupun DVD, melewati batas kapasitasnya.

Adalah rahasia umum bahwa satu keeping CD (non mini) memiliki dua standar kapasitas, yaitu 650MB (74 menit audio) dan 700MB (80 menit audio). Nah, tiap kali kita membakar CD, kapasitas yang akan dibakar harus pas atau kurang dari kapasitas tampung CD tersebut. Tapi, dengan adanya fungsi overburn, kita bisa membakar sebuah CD di atas kapasitas maksimalnya. Misalnya, Keping CD 700MB, kita bisa memasukkan data sebanyak 720MB, atau 800MB pada jenis disc tertentu. Bahkan kita membuat CD Audio yang berkapasitas 99 menit.

Lead Out pada Disc

Bagaimana bisa sebuah keping disc di-overburn? Banyak produsen disc sengaja melebihkan panjang jalur bakar data pada pinggiran disc mereka. Area ini dinamakan lead out.

Lead out sendiri sebenarnya dibuat untuk memberikan toleransi bagi perangkat pemutar CD Audio untuk membaca bagian depan keeping CD. Tujuannya agar tidak terjadi kekacauan dalam pencarian data. Sebagai informasi, lead out akan membuat blok data digital audio dengan durasi sekitar 90 detik. Data ini tentu saja data silent, yaitu data audio yang diam tak bersuara.

Lalu apa yang diperlukan untuk melakukan overburning pada sebuah CD? Tentunya Anda membutuhkan perangkat CD Writer dan peranti lunak yang pas. Meski begitu, data yang bisa ditulis pada area lead out sangat bervariasi, tergantung merek dari CD tersebut. Secara teoritis, area lead out bisa bisa di-burn hingga 10% total kapasitas kepingnya, namun, pada kenyataannya, area lead out yang bisa dibakar paling hanya sekitar 1 – 5 persen dari total kapasitas keping.

Hampir semua drive CD-ROM bisa membaca data pada lead out. Karena itulah, para pembuat peranti lunak umumnya membuat dan memasarkan peranti mereka dalam disc yang sudah di-overburn. Tujuannya, selain untuk mengurangi biaya produksi, juga untuk mempermudah pembuatan sistem proteksi penyalinan perantinya. Alasannya, akan repot jika mereka harus menyalin ulang proteksi peranti lunak mereka ke CD yang lain.

Perkembangannya

Overburning menggunakan CD Writer, pertama kali dipopulerkan oleh Yamaha. Saat itu, hanya Yamaha yang memiliki sebuah CD Writer berkecapatan 4X yang bisa membakar data sebanyak 660MB pada CD berkapasitas 650MB. Setelah itu, mulailah bermunculan beragam CD Audio dengan durasi putar 75 menit, diikuti dengan kemunculan keping-keping CD berkapasitas 800MB.

Saat ini, CD Writer sudah dilengkapi dengan fasilitas overburn sebagai standar. Bahkan sudah banyak ditemukan keping CD yang mampu dibakar dengan data berdurasi hingga 99 menit.

Gebrakan lain juga dilakukan oleh Sanyo, yang sering membuat chipset untuk CD Writer Plextor. Sanyo menemukan algoritma yang mampu membuat sebuah CD dengan standar kapasitas 700MB untuk diisi data melebihi 1GB. Hebat, kan? Meski begitu, tidak semua CD/DVD ROM, serta pemutar CD Audio/VCD dan DVD yang bisa membaca hasil pembakaran dari CD yang ukurannya terlalu besar ini.

Kalau kita bisa melakukan overburning pada CD, apakah hal yang sama juga bisa dilakukan pada DVD? Tentu saja.

DVD Writer pertama yang bisa dipakai untuk melakukan overburning DVD adalah DVD Writer buatan Plextor. Namun karena drive-nya terlalu mahal, tak banyak orang yang tertarik untuk melakukan overburning pada DVD.

Sebagai informasi, ada seseorang yang dijuluki Quikee, yang berhasil menemukan algoritma yang memungkinkan satu keeping DVD+R yang berkapasitas 4600MB diisi dengan data hingga 4482MB. Algoritma tersebut berhasil ditemukannya pada DVD Writer BenQ seri 1640. Sayangnya, algoritma ini tidak bisa dipakai pada keeping DVD-R. (PCplus, 287)

How to Rip TM Dynamic Flash Templates
by: Baisan

What you need:

Sample dynamic flash template from TM website
Sothink SWF Decompiler
Macromedia Flash
Yourself


1. browse or search your favorite dynamic flash template in TM website. If you got one... click the "view" link and new window will open with dynamic flash.. loading...

2. If the movie fully loaded, click View -> Source in your browser to bring the source code of the current page and in the source code, search for "IFRAME" and you will see the iframe page. In this example were going to try the 7045 dynamic template. get the URL(ex.
http://images.templatemonster.com/screenshots/7000/7045.html) then paste it to your browser... easy eh? wait! dont be to excited... erase the .html and change it to swf then press enter then you'll see the flash movie again icon_smile.gif.

3. copy the URL and download that SWF file.. use your favorite download manager.. mine I used flashget icon_smile.gif NOTE: dont close the browser we may need that later on.

4. open your Sothink SWF decompiler... click "Quick Open" then browse where you download your SWF/movie file. Click Export FLA to export your SWF to FLA, in short, save it as FLA icon_smile.gif

5. Open your Macromedia FLash and open the saved FLA file. press Control+Enter or publish the file... then wallah! the output window will come up with "Error opening URL blah blah blah..." dont panic, that error will help you where to get the remaining files.

6. Copy the first error, example: "7045_main.html" then go back to your browser and replace the 7045.swf to 7045_main.html press enter and you'll see a lot of text... nonsense text icon_lol.gif that text are your contents...

NOTE: when you save the remaining files dont forget to save with underscore sign (_) in the front on the file without the TM item number (e.g. 7045) if it is html save it as "_main.html" and same with the image save it as "_works1.jpg" save them where you save the FLA and SWF files. Continue browsing the file inside Flash application so you can track the remaining files... do the same until you finish downloading all the remaining the files.

Crash Course in X Windows Security

1. Motivation / introduction
2. How open X displays are found
3. The local-host problem
4. Snooping techniques - dumping windows
5. Snooping techniques - reading keyboard
6. Xterm - secure keyboard option
7. Trojan X programs [xlock and xdm]
8. X Security tools - xauth MIT-MAGIC-COOKIE
9. Concluding remarks





1. Motivation / introduction

X windows pose a security risk. Through a network, anyone can connect
to an open X display, read the keyboard, dump the screen and windows
and start applications on the unprotected display. Even if this is a
known fact throughout the computer security world, few attempts on
informing the user community of the security risks involved have been
made. This article deals with some of the aspects of X windows
security. It is in no sense a complete guide to the subject, but
rather an introduction to a not-so-known field of computer
security. Knowledge of the basics of the X windows system is
necessary, I haven't bothered including an introductory section to
explain the fundamentals. I wrote some code during the research for
this article, but none of it is included herein. If the lingual flow
of English seem mayhap strange and erroneous from byte to byte, this
is due to the fact that I'm Scandinavian. Bare with it. :)





2. How open X displays are found

An open X display is in formal terms an X server that has its access
control disabled. Disabling access control is normally done with the
xhost command.

$ xhost +

allows connections from any host. A single host can be allowed
connection with the command

$ xhost + ZZZ.ZZZ.ZZZ.ZZZ

where Z is the IP address or host-name. Access control can be enabled
by issuing an

$ xhost -

command. In this case no host but the local-host can connect to the
display. Period. It is as simple as that - if the display runs in
'xhost -' state, you are safe from programs that scans and attaches to
unprotected X displays. You can check the access control of your
display by simply typing xhost from a shell. Sadly enough, most sites
run their X displays with access control disabled as default. They are
therefore easy prey for the various scanner programs circulating on
the net.

Anyone with a bit of knowledge about Xlib and sockets programming can
write an X scanner in a couple of hours. The task is normally
accomplished by probing the port that is reserved for X windows,
number 6000. If anything is alive at that port, the scanner calls
XOpenDisplay("IP-ADDRESS:0.0") that will return a pointer to the
display structure, if and only if the target display has its access
control disabled. If access control is enabled, XOpenDisplay returns 0
and reports that the display could not be opened.

E.g:

Xlib: connection to "display:0.0" refused by server
Xlib: Client is not authorized to connect to Server

The probing of port 6000 is necessary because of the fact that calling
XOpenDisplay() on a host that runs no X server will simply hang the
calling process. So much for unix programming conventions. :)

I wrote a program called xscan that could scan an entire subnet or
scan the entries in /etc/hosts for open X displays. My remark about
most sites running X displays with access control disabled, originates
from running xscan towards several sites on the internet.





3. The localhost problem

Running your display with access control enabled by using 'xhost -'
will guard you from XOpenDisplay attempts through port number
6000. But there is one way an eavesdropper can bypass this
protection. If he can log into your host, he can connect to the
display of the localhost. The trick is fairly simple. By issuing these
few lines, dumping the screen of the host 'target' is accomplished:

$ rlogin target
$ xwd -root -display localhost:0.0 > ~/snarfed.xwd
$ exit
$ xwud -in ~/snarfed.xwd

And voila, we have a screendump of the root window of the X server
target.

Of course, an intruder must have an account on your system and be able
to log into the host where the specific X server runs. On sites with a
lot of X terminals, this means that no X display is safe from those
with access. If you can run a process on a host, you can connect to
(any of) its X displays.

Every Xlib routine has the Display structure as it's first
argument. By successfully opening a display, you can manipulate it
with every Xlib call available. For an intruder, the most 'important'
ways of manipulating is grabbing windows and keystrokes.






4. Snooping techniques - dumping windows

The most natural way of snarfing a window from an X server is by using
the X11R5 utility xwd or X Window System dumping utility. To get a
grip of the program, here's a small excerpt from the man page

DESCRIPTION
Xwd is an X Window System window dumping utility. Xwd allows Xusers
to store window images in a specially formatted dump file. This file
can then be read by various other X utilities for redisplay, printing,
editing, formatting, archiving, image processing, etc. The target
window is selected by clicking the pointer in the desired window. The
keyboard bell is rung once at the beginning of the dump and twice when
the dump is completed.

Shortly, xwd is a tool for dumping X windows into a format readable by
another program, xwud. To keep the trend, here's an excerpt from the
man page of xwud:


DESCRIPTION
Xwud is an X Window System image undumping utility. Xwud allows X
users to display in a window an image saved in a specially formatted
dump file, such as produced by xwd(1).

I will not go in detail of how to use these programs, as they are both
self-explanatory and easy to use. Both the entire root window, a
specified window (by name) can be dumped, or a specified screen. As a
'security measure' xwd will beep the terminal it is dumping from, once
when xwd is started, and once when it is finished (regardless of the
xset b off command). But with the source code available, it is a
matter of small modification to compile a version of xwd that doesn't
beep or otherwise identifies itself - on the process list e.g. If we
wanted to dump the root window or any other window from a host, we
could simply pick a window from the process list, which often gives
away the name of the window through the -name flag. As before
mentioned, to dump the entire screen from a host:

$ xwd -root localhost:0.0 > file

the output can be directed to a file, and read with

$ xwud -in file

or just piped straight to the xwud command.

Xterm windows are a different thing. You can not specify the name of
an xterm and then dump it. They are somehow blocked towards the
X_Getimage primitive used by xwd, so the following

$ xwd -name xterm

will result in an error. However, the entire root window (with Xterms
and all) can still be dumped and watched by xwud. Some protection.






5. Snooping techniques - reading keyboard

If you can connect to a display, you can also log and store every
keystroke that passes through the X server. A program circulating the
net, called xkey, does this trick. A kind of higher-level version of
the infamous ttysnoop.c. I wrote my own, who could read the keystrokes
of a specific window ID (not just every keystroke, as my version of
xkey). The window ID's of a specific root-window, can be acquired
with a call to XQueryTree(), that will return the XWindowAttributes of
every window present. The window manager must be able to control every
window-ID and what keys are pressed down at what time. By use of the
window-manager functions of Xlib, KeyPress events can be captured, and
KeySyms can be turned into characters by continuous calls to
XLookupString.

You can even send KeySym's to a Window. An intruder may therefore not
only snoop on your activity, he can also send keyboard events to
processes, like they were typed on the keyboard. Reading/writing
keyboard events to an xterm window opens new horizons in process
manipulation from remote. Luckily, xterm has good protection
techniques for prohibiting access to the keyboard events.





6. Xterm - Secure keyboard option

A lot of passwords is typed in an xterm window. It is therefore
crucial that the user has full control over which processes can read
and write to an xterm. The permission for the X server to send events
to an Xterm window, is set at compile time. The default is false,
meaning that all SendEvent requests from the X server to an xterm
window is discarded. You can overwrite the compile-time setting with a
standard resource definition in the .Xdefaults file:

xterm*allowSendEvents True

or by selecting Allow Sendevents on the Xterm Main Options
menu. (Accessed by pressing CTRL and the left mouse button But this is
_not_ recommended. Neither by me, nor the man page. ;) Read access is
a different thing.

Xterms mechanism for hindering other X clients to read the keyboard
during entering of sensitive data, passwords etc. is by using the
XGrabKeyboard() call. Only one process can grab the keyboard at any
one time. To activate the Secure Keyboard option, choose the Main
Options menu in your Xterm window (CTRL+Left mouse button) and select
Secure Keyboard. If the colors of your xterm window inverts, the
keyboard is now Grabbed, and no other X client can read the KeySyms.

The versions of Xterm X11R5 without patch26 also contain a rather
nasty and very well known security hole that enables any user to
become root through clever use of symbolic links to the password
file. The Xterm process need to be setuid for this hole to be
exploitable. Refer to the Cert Advisory:
CA-93:17.xterm.logging.vulnerability.






7. Trojan X clients - xlock and X based logins

Can you think of a more suitable program for installing a
password-grabbing trojan horse than xlock? I myself cannot. With a few
lines added to the getPassword routine in xlock.c, the password of
every user using the trojan version of xlock can be stashed away in a
file for later use by an intruder. The changes are so minimal, only a
couple of bytes will tell the real version from the trojan version.

If a user has a writable homedir and a ./ in her PATH environment
variable, she is vulnerable to this kind of attack. Getting the
password is achieved by placing a trojan version of Xlock in the users
homedir and waiting for an invocation. The functionality of the
original Xlock is contained in the trojan version. The trojan version
can even tidy up and destroy itself after one succesfull attempt, and
the user will not know that his password has been captured.

Xlock, like every password-prompting program, should be regarded with
suspicion if it shows up in places it should not be, like in your own
homedir.

Spoofed X based logins however are a bit more tricky for the intruder
to accomplish. He must simulate the login screen of the login program
ran by XDM. The only way to ensure that you get the proper XDM login
program (if you want to be really paranoid) is to restart the
X-terminal, whatever key combination that will be for the terminal in
question.







8. X Security tools - xauth MIT-MAGIC-COOKIE

To avoid unathorized connections to your X display, the command xauth
for encrypted X connections is widely used. When you login, xdm
creates a file .Xauthority in your homedir. This file is binary, and
readable only through the xauth command. If you issue the command

$ xauth list

you will get an output of:

your.display.ip:0 MIT-MAGIC-COOKIE-1 73773549724b76682f726d42544a684a

display name authorization type key

The .Xauthority file sometimes contains information from older
sessions, but this is not important, as a new key is created at every
login session. To access a display with xauth active - you must have
the current access key.

If you want to open your display for connections from a particular
user, you must inform him of your key.
He must then issue the command

$ xauth add your.display.ip:0 MIT-MAGIC-COOKIE-1 73773549724b7668etc.

Now, only that user (including yourself) can connect to your display.
Xauthority is simple and powerful, and eliminates many of the security
problems with X.





9. Concluding remarks

Thanks must go to Anthony Tyssen for sending me his accumulated info
on X security issues from varius usenet discussions. I hope someone
has found useful information in this text. It is released to the
net.community with the idea that it will help the user to understand
the security problems concerned with using X windows. Questions or
remarks can be sent to the following address:

______________________________________________________________________
runeb / cF --- runeb@stud.cs.uit.no --- http://www.cs.uit.no/~runeb

Your hard drive must be formatted with a file system such as FAT, FAT32 or NTFS so that Windows can be installed on to it. This system determines how files are named, organised and stored on the drive. If you’re not using it already, NTFS (New Technology File System) is recommended for Windows XP because of the additional functionality it offers. If your PC came with Windows XP pre-installed then there’s a chance that you’re already using NTFS. If you’ve upgraded from Windows 98 or Windows Me you may still be using FAT or FAT 32. The option to change over to NTFS would have been available during the upgrade process. Don’t worry if you skipped this as it’s possible to convert at any time from within Windows XP without losing any data.

The recommended option
There are a number of features in Windows XP that will only work if the NTFS file system is present, which is why it’s suggested you make use of it. File and folder permissions, encryption and privacy options are just some of those you’ll be able to access. In particular, those of you who have set up user accounts will find NTFS invaluable. For instance, if you continue to use FAT or FAT32 anyone with physical access to the drive will be able to access the files and folders that are stored there. However, with NTFS you’ll be able to use a level of encryption (Professional Edition only) that will enable you to protect your data.

You’ll also find NTFS more reliable in that it’s more able to recover from disk errors than its FAT or FAT32 counterparts. A log of all disk activity is kept so should a crash occur, Windows XP can use this information to repair the file system when your PC boots up again. To find out what file system you’re using, open My Computer, right-click your main hard drive and choose Properties. Take a look at the General tab to see confirmation of the file system that’s in use.

Convert now
You can use the convert tool in Windows XP to change the file system on your hard disk from FAT or FAT32 to NTFS. The whole process is safe and your existing data won’t be destroyed. To begin, click Start -> Run, type cmd and press [Return]. At the command prompt type convert c: /fs:ntfs and press [Return] (where ‘c’ is the letter of the drive you’re converting). When you try and run the convert utility, it’s likely that Windows XP will be using your paging file so the process won’t be completed immediately. Therefore, you’ll see a brief message on screen informing you that the conversion will take place instead the next time Windows starts up. Having restarted, the Check Disk utility will run, the conversion will be performed automatically and you may find that your PC will reboot twice more.

The benefits
With your drive now running NTFS, it’s time to take advantage of the new options that are available. Having created a number of different user accounts you can now control the level of access that’s granted to individual users. For example, there are going to be certain files and folders that you’ll want some users to be able to access but not others. If you have Windows XP Professional Edition you can do this immediately.

Right-click any file or folder, choose Properties and select the Security tab. A dialog will be displayed showing the names of all your users. Alongside will be two columns which enable you to select levels of access for each of them, the permissions include Full Control, Modify, Read and Write. You can then check the appropriate box to determine whether or not to Allow or Deny a particular permission. For Windows XP Home Edition users, the Security tab won’t be immediately available. To access this option you’ll need to restart your PC, pressing [F8] until a menu appears. Next select Safe Mode and wait for Windows XP to start up. You can then set your options in the same way.

Another feature is NTFS compression. It’s quick and seamless as your file or folder is decompressed automatically when you access it. (Don’t confuse this with a Zip compression utility where the files need to be extracted before they can be accessed.) Although you may have used NTFS compression on a file or folder, there’s no way of telling just by looking at it. To remedy this, open My Computer, click Tools -> Folder Options and select the View tab. Under Advanced settings, scroll down and check the option ‘Show encrypted or compressed NTFS files in color’, then click Apply and OK. Take a look at your compressed items in My Computer and you’ll see the text label has changed from black to blue. Something else that’s exclusive to Professional Edition users is the Encrypting File System (EFS). You can use this to protect your important data so that no one else can read it. Your encrypted files and folders will only be accessible when you have logged into your user account successfully.

How To: Change Your Ip In Less Then 1 Minute

1. Click on "Start" in the bottom left hand corner of screen
2. Click on "Run"
3. Type in "command" and hit ok

You should now be at an MSDOS prompt screen.

4. Type "ipconfig /release" just like that, and hit "enter"
5. Type "exit" and leave the prompt
6. Right-click on "Network Places" or "My Network Places" on your desktop.
7. Click on "properties"

You should now be on a screen with something titled "Local Area Connection", or something close to that, and, if you have a network hooked up, all of your other networks.

8. Right click on "Local Area Connection" and click "properties"
9. Double-click on the "Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)" from the list under the "General" tab
10. Click on "Use the following IP address" under the "General" tab
11. Create an IP address (It doesn't matter what it is. I just type 1 and 2 until i fill the area up).
12. Press "Tab" and it should automatically fill in the "Subnet Mask" section with default numbers.
13. Hit the "Ok" button here
14. Hit the "Ok" button again

You should now be back to the "Local Area Connection" screen.

15. Right-click back on "Local Area Connection" and go to properties again.
16. Go back to the "TCP/IP" settings
17. This time, select "Obtain an IP address automatically"
tongue.gif 18. Hit "Ok"
19. Hit "Ok" again
20. You now have a new IP address

With a little practice, you can easily get this process down to 15 seconds.

P.S:
This only changes your dynamic IP address, not your ISP/IP address. If you plan on hacking a website with this trick be extremely careful, because if they try a little, they can trace it back

Step 1 - Modify Explorer.exe File

In order to make the changes, the file explorer.exe located at C:\Windows needs to be edited. Since explorer.exe is a binary file it requires a special editor. For purposes of this article I have used Resource Hacker. Resource HackerTM is a freeware utility to view, modify, rename, add, delete and extract resources in 32bit Windows executables and resource files (*.res). It incorporates an internal resource script compiler and decompiler and works on Microsoft Windows 95/98/ME, Windows NT, Windows 2000 and Windows XP operating systems.

get this from h**p://delphi.icm.edu.pl/ftp/tools/ResHack.zip

The first step is to make a backup copy of the file explorer.exe located at C:\Windows\explorer. Place it in a folder somewhere on your hard drive where it will be safe. Start Resource Hacker and open explorer.exe located at C:\Windows\explorer.exe.

The category we are going to be using is "String Table". Expand it by clicking the plus sign then navigate down to and expand string 37 followed by highlighting 1033. If you are using the Classic Layout rather than the XP Layout, use number 38. The right hand pane will display the stringtable. We’re going to modify item 578, currently showing the word “start” just as it displays on the current Start button.

There is no magic here. Just double click on the word “start” so that it’s highlighted, making sure the quotation marks are not part of the highlight. They need to remain in place, surrounding the new text that you’ll type. Go ahead and type your new entry. In my case I used Click Me!

You’ll notice that after the new text string has been entered the Compile Script button that was grayed out is now active. I won’t get into what’s involved in compiling a script, but suffice it to say it’s going to make this exercise worthwhile. Click Compile Script and then save the altered file using the Save As command on the File Menu. Do not use the Save command – Make sure to use the Save As command and choose a name for the file. Save the newly named file to C:\Windows.


Step 2 – Modify the Registry

!!!make a backup of your registry before making changes!!!

Now that the modified explorer.exe has been created it’s necessary to modify the registry so the file will be recognized when the user logs on to the system. If you don’t know how to access the registry I’m not sure this article is for you, but just in case it’s a temporary memory lapse, go to Start (soon to be something else) Run and type regedit in the Open field. Navigate to:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\ SOFTWARE\ Microsoft\ Windows NT\ CurrentVersion\ Winlogon

In the right pane, double click the "Shell" entry to open the Edit String dialog box. In Value data: line, enter the name that was used to save the modified explorer.exe file. Click OK.

Close Registry Editor and either log off the system and log back in, or reboot the entire system if that’s your preference. If all went as planned you should see your new Start button with the revised text.[/b]

If you've let your guard down--or even if you haven't--it can be hard to tell if your PC is infected. Here's what to do if you suspect the worst.


Heard this one before? You must run antivirus software and keep it up to date or else your PC will get infected, you'll lose all your data, and you'll incur the wrath of every e-mail buddy you unknowingly infect because of your carelessness.

You know they're right. Yet for one reason or another, you're not running antivirus software, or you are but it's not up to date. Maybe you turned off your virus scanner because it conflicted with another program. Maybe you got tired of upgrading after you bought Norton Antivirus 2001, 2002, and 2003. Or maybe your annual subscription of virus definitions recently expired, and you've put off renewing.

It happens. It's nothing to be ashamed of. But chances are, either you're infected right now, as we speak, or you will be very soon.

For a few days in late January, the Netsky.p worm was infecting about 2,500 PCs a day. Meanwhile the MySQL bot infected approximately 100 systems a minute (albeit not necessarily desktop PCs). As David Perry, global director of education for security software provider Trend Micro, puts it, "an unprotected [Windows] computer will become owned by a bot within 14 minutes."

Today's viruses, worms, and so-called bots--which turn your PC into a zombie that does the hacker's bidding (such as mass-mailing spam)--aren't going to announce their presence. Real viruses aren't like the ones in Hollywood movies that melt down whole networks in seconds and destroy alien spacecraft. They operate in the background, quietly altering data, stealing private operations, or using your PC for their own illegal ends. This makes them hard to spot if you're not well protected.

Is Your PC "Owned?"

I should start by saying that not every system oddity is due to a virus, worm, or bot. Is your system slowing down? Is your hard drive filling up rapidly? Are programs crashing without warning? These symptoms are more likely caused by Windows, or badly written legitimate programs, rather than malware. After all, people who write malware want to hide their program's presence. People who write commercial software put icons all over your desktop. Who's going to work harder to go unnoticed?

Other indicators that may, in fact, indicate that there's nothing that you need to worry about, include:

* An automated e-mail telling you that you're sending out infected mail. E-mail viruses and worms typically come from faked addresses.
* A frantic note from a friend saying they've been infected, and therefore so have you. This is likely a hoax. It's especially suspicious if the note tells you the virus can't be detected but you can get rid of it by deleting one simple file. Don't be fooled--and don't delete that file.

I'm not saying that you should ignore such warnings. Copy the subject line or a snippet from the body of the e-mail and plug it into your favorite search engine to see if other people have received the same note. A security site may have already pegged it as a hoax.

Sniffing Out an Infection

There are signs that indicate that your PC is actually infected. A lot of network activity coming from your system (when you're not actually using Internet) can be a good indicator that something is amiss. A good software firewall, such as ZoneAlarm, will ask your permission before letting anything leave your PC, and will give you enough information to help you judge if the outgoing data is legitimate. By the way, the firewall that comes with Windows, even the improved version in XP Service Pack 2, lacks this capability.

To put a network status light in your system tray, follow these steps: In Windows XP, choose Start, Control Panel, Network Connections, right-click the network connection you want to monitor, choose Properties, check "Show icon in notification area when connected," and click OK.

If you're interested in being a PC detective, you can sniff around further for malware. By hitting Ctrl-Alt-Delete in Windows, you'll bring up the Task Manager, which will show you the various processes your system is running. Most, if not all, are legit, but if you see a file name that looks suspicious, type it into a search engine and find out what it is.

Want another place to look? In Windows XP, click Start, Run, type "services.msc" in the box, and press Enter. You'll see detailed descriptions of the services Windows is running. Something look weird? Check with your search engine.

Finally, you can do more detective work by selecting Start, Run, and typing "msconfig" in the box. With this tool you not only see the services running, but also the programs that your system is launching at startup. Again, check for anything weird.

If any of these tools won't run--or if your security software won't run--that in itself is a good sign your computer is infected. Some viruses intentionally disable such programs as a way to protect themselves.

What to Do Next

Once you're fairly sure your system is infected, don't panic. There are steps you can take to assess the damage, depending on your current level of protection.

* If you don't have any antivirus software on your system (shame on you), or if the software has stopped working, stay online and go for a free scan at one of several Web sites. There's McAfee FreeScan, Symantec Security Check, and Trend Micro's HouseCall. If one doesn't find anything, try two. In fact, running a free online virus scan is a good way to double-check the work of your own local antivirus program. When you're done, buy or download a real antivirus program.
* If you have antivirus software, but it isn't active, get offline, unplug wires-- whatever it takes to stop your computer from communicating via the Internet. Then, promptly perform a scan with the installed software.
* If nothing seems to be working, do more research on the Web. There are several online virus libraries where you can find out about known viruses. These sites often provide instructions for removing viruses--if manual removal is possible--or a free removal tool if it isn't. Check out GriSOFT's Virus Encyclopedia, Eset's Virus Descriptions, McAffee's Virus Glossary, Symantec's Virus Encyclopedia, or Trend Micro's Virus Encyclopedia.

A Microgram of Prevention

Assuming your system is now clean, you need to make sure it stays that way. Preventing a breach of your computer's security is far more effective than cleaning up the mess afterwards. Start with a good security program, such Trend Micro's PC-Cillin, which you can buy for $50.

Don't want to shell out any money? You can cobble together security through free downloads, such as AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition, ZoneAlarm (a personal firewall), and Ad-Aware SE (an antispyware tool).

Just make sure you keep all security software up to date. The bad guys constantly try out new ways to fool security programs. Any security tool without regular, easy (if not automatic) updates isn't worth your money or your time.

Speaking of updating, the same goes for Windows. Use Windows Update (it's right there on your Start Menu) to make sure you're getting all of the high priority updates. If you run Windows XP, make sure to get the Service Pack 2 update. To find out if you already have it, right-click My Computer, and select Properties. Under the General tab, under System, it should say "Service Pack 2."

Here are a few more pointers for a virus-free life:

* Be careful with e-mail. Set your e-mail software security settings to high. Don't open messages with generic-sounding subjects that don't apply specifically to you from people you don't know. Don't open an attachment unless you're expecting it.
* If you have broadband Internet access, such as DSL or cable, get a router, even if you only have one PC. A router adds an extra layer of protection because your PC is not connecting directly with the Internet.
* Check your Internet ports. These doorways between your computer and the Internet can be open, in which case your PC is very vulnerable; closed, but still somewhat vulnerable; or stealthed (or hidden), which is safest. Visit Gibson Research's Web site and run the free ShieldsUP test to see your ports' status. If some ports show up as closed--or worse yet, open--check your router's documentation to find out how to hide them.

Follow the following steps

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

Fatal error: the system has become unstable or is busy," it says. "Enter to return to Windows or press Control-Alt-Delete to restart your computer. If you do this you will lose any unsaved information in all open applications."

You have just been struck by the Blue Screen of Death. Anyone who uses Mcft Windows will be familiar with this. What can you do? More importantly, how can you prevent it happening?

1 Hardware conflict

The number one reason why Windows crashes is hardware conflict. Each hardware device communicates to other devices through an interrupt request channel (IRQ). These are supposed to be unique for each device.

For example, a printer usually connects internally on IRQ 7. The keyboard usually uses IRQ 1 and the floppy disk drive IRQ 6. Each device will try to hog a single IRQ for itself.

If there are a lot of devices, or if they are not installed properly, two of them may end up sharing the same IRQ number. When the user tries to use both devices at the same time, a crash can happen. The way to check if your computer has a hardware conflict is through the following route:

* Start-Settings-Control Panel-System-Device Manager.

Often if a device has a problem a yellow '!' appears next to its description in the Device Manager. Highlight Computer (in the Device Manager) and press Properties to see the IRQ numbers used by your computer. If the IRQ number appears twice, two devices may be using it.

Sometimes a device might share an IRQ with something described as 'IRQ holder for PCI steering'. This can be ignored. The best way to fix this problem is to remove the problem device and reinstall it.

Sometimes you may have to find more recent drivers on the internet to make the device function properly. A good resource is www.driverguide.com. If the device is a soundcard, or a modem, it can often be fixed by moving it to a different slot on the motherboard (be careful about opening your computer, as you may void the warranty).

When working inside a computer you should switch it off, unplug the mains lead and touch an unpainted metal surface to discharge any static electricity.

To be fair to Mcft, the problem with IRQ numbers is not of its making. It is a legacy problem going back to the first PC designs using the IBM 8086 chip. Initially there were only eight IRQs. Today there are 16 IRQs in a PC. It is easy to run out of them. There are plans to increase the number of IRQs in future designs.

2 Bad Ram

Ram (random-access memory) problems might bring on the blue screen of death with a message saying Fatal Exception Error. A fatal error indicates a serious hardware problem. Sometimes it may mean a part is damaged and will need replacing.

But a fatal error caused by Ram might be caused by a mismatch of chips. For example, mixing 70-nanosecond (70ns) Ram with 60ns Ram will usually force the computer to run all the Ram at the slower speed. This will often crash the machine if the Ram is overworked.

One way around this problem is to enter the BIOS settings and increase the wait state of the Ram. This can make it more stable. Another way to troubleshoot a suspected Ram problem is to rearrange the Ram chips on the motherboard, or take some of them out. Then try to repeat the circumstances that caused the crash. When handling Ram try not to touch the gold connections, as they can be easily damaged.

Parity error messages also refer to Ram. Modern Ram chips are either parity (ECC) or non parity (non-ECC). It is best not to mix the two types, as this can be a cause of trouble.

EMM386 error messages refer to memory problems but may not be connected to bad Ram. This may be due to free memory problems often linked to old Dos-based programmes.

3 BIOS settings

Every motherboard is supplied with a range of chipset settings that are decided in the factory. A common way to access these settings is to press the F2 or delete button during the first few seconds of a boot-up.

Once inside the BIOS, great care should be taken. It is a good idea to write down on a piece of paper all the settings that appear on the screen. That way, if you change something and the computer becomes more unstable, you will know what settings to revert to.

A common BIOS error concerns the CAS latency. This refers to the Ram. Older EDO (extended data out) Ram has a CAS latency of 3. Newer SDRam has a CAS latency of 2. Setting the wrong figure can cause the Ram to lock up and freeze the computer's display.

Mcft Windows is better at allocating IRQ numbers than any BIOS. If possible set the IRQ numbers to Auto in the BIOS. This will allow Windows to allocate the IRQ numbers (make sure the BIOS setting for Plug and Play OS is switched to 'yes' to allow Windows to do this.).

4 Hard disk drives

After a few weeks, the information on a hard disk drive starts to become piecemeal or fragmented. It is a good idea to defragment the hard disk every week or so, to prevent the disk from causing a screen freeze. Go to

* Start-Programs-Accessories-System Tools-Disk Defragmenter

This will start the procedure. You will be unable to write data to the hard drive (to save it) while the disk is defragmenting, so it is a good idea to schedule the procedure for a period of inactivity using the Task Scheduler.

The Task Scheduler should be one of the small icons on the bottom right of the Windows opening page (the desktop).

Some lockups and screen freezes caused by hard disk problems can be solved by reducing the read-ahead optimisation. This can be adjusted by going to

* Start-Settings-Control Panel-System Icon-Performance-File System-Hard Disk.

Hard disks will slow down and crash if they are too full. Do some housekeeping on your hard drive every few months and free some space on it. Open the Windows folder on the C drive and find the Temporary Internet Files folder. Deleting the contents (not the folder) can free a lot of space.

Empty the Recycle Bin every week to free more space. Hard disk drives should be scanned every week for errors or bad sectors. Go to

* Start-Programs-Accessories-System Tools-ScanDisk

Otherwise assign the Task Scheduler to perform this operation at night when the computer is not in use.

5 Fatal OE exceptions and VXD errors

Fatal OE exception errors and VXD errors are often caused by video card problems.

These can often be resolved easily by reducing the resolution of the video display. Go to

* Start-Settings-Control Panel-Display-Settings

Here you should slide the screen area bar to the left. Take a look at the colour settings on the left of that window. For most desktops, high colour 16-bit depth is adequate.

If the screen freezes or you experience system lockups it might be due to the video card. Make sure it does not have a hardware conflict. Go to

* Start-Settings-Control Panel-System-Device Manager

Here, select the + beside Display Adapter. A line of text describing your video card should appear. Select it (make it blue) and press properties. Then select Resources and select each line in the window. Look for a message that says No Conflicts.

If you have video card hardware conflict, you will see it here. Be careful at this point and make a note of everything you do in case you make things worse.

The way to resolve a hardware conflict is to uncheck the Use Automatic Settings box and hit the Change Settings button. You are searching for a setting that will display a No Conflicts message.

Another useful way to resolve video problems is to go to

* Start-Settings-Control Panel-System-Performance-Graphics

Here you should move the Hardware Acceleration slider to the left. As ever, the most common cause of problems relating to graphics cards is old or faulty drivers (a driver is a small piece of software used by a computer to communicate with a device).

Look up your video card's manufacturer on the internet and search for the most recent drivers for it.

6 Viruses

Often the first sign of a virus infection is instability. Some viruses erase the boot sector of a hard drive, making it impossible to start. This is why it is a good idea to create a Windows start-up disk. Go to

* Start-Settings-Control Panel-Add/Remove Programs

Here, look for the Start Up Disk tab. Virus protection requires constant vigilance.

A virus scanner requires a list of virus signatures in order to be able to identify viruses. These signatures are stored in a DAT file. DAT files should be updated weekly from the website of your antivirus software manufacturer.

An excellent antivirus programme is McAfee VirusScan by Network Associates ( www.nai.com). Another is Norton AntiVirus 2000, made by Symantec ( www.symantec.com).

7 Printers

The action of sending a document to print creates a bigger file, often called a postscript file.

Printers have only a small amount of memory, called a buffer. This can be easily overloaded. Printing a document also uses a considerable amount of CPU power. This will also slow down the computer's performance.

If the printer is trying to print unusual characters, these might not be recognised, and can crash the computer. Sometimes printers will not recover from a crash because of confusion in the buffer. A good way to clear the buffer is to unplug the printer for ten seconds. Booting up from a powerless state, also called a cold boot, will restore the printer's default settings and you may be able to carry on.

8 Software

A common cause of computer crash is faulty or badly-installed software. Often the problem can be cured by uninstalling the software and then reinstalling it. Use Norton Uninstall or Uninstall Shield to remove an application from your system properly. This will also remove references to the programme in the System Registry and leaves the way clear for a completely fresh copy.

The System Registry can be corrupted by old references to obsolete software that you thought was uninstalled. Use Reg Cleaner by Jouni Vuorio to clean up the System Registry and remove obsolete entries. It works on Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 98 SE (Second Edition), Windows Millennium Edition (ME), NT4 and Windows 2000.

Read the instructions and use it carefully so you don't do permanent damage to the Registry. If the Registry is damaged you will have to reinstall your operating system. Reg Cleaner can be obtained from www.jv16.org

Often a Windows problem can be resolved by entering Safe Mode. This can be done during start-up. When you see the message "Starting Windows" press F4. This should take you into Safe Mode.

Safe Mode loads a minimum of drivers. It allows you to find and fix problems that prevent Windows from loading properly.

Sometimes installing Windows is difficult because of unsuitable BIOS settings. If you keep getting SUWIN error messages (Windows setup) during the Windows installation, then try entering the BIOS and disabling the CPU internal cache. Try to disable the Level 2 (L2) cache if that doesn't work.

Remember to restore all the BIOS settings back to their former settings following installation.

9 Overheating

Central processing units (CPUs) are usually equipped with fans to keep them cool. If the fan fails or if the CPU gets old it may start to overheat and generate a particular kind of error called a kernel error. This is a common problem in chips that have been overclocked to operate at higher speeds than they are supposed to.

One remedy is to get a bigger better fan and install it on top of the CPU. Specialist cooling fans/heatsinks are available from www.computernerd.com or www.coolit.com

CPU problems can often be fixed by disabling the CPU internal cache in the BIOS. This will make the machine run more slowly, but it should also be more stable.

10 Power supply problems

With all the new construction going on around the country the steady supply of electricity has become disrupted. A power surge or spike can crash a computer as easily as a power cut.

If this has become a nuisance for you then consider buying a uninterrupted power supply (UPS). This will give you a clean power supply when there is electricity, and it will give you a few minutes to perform a controlled shutdown in case of a power cut.

It is a good investment if your data are critical, because a power cut will cause any unsaved data to be lost.