Go4Mca

A common place for all the IT Peoples.


KUninstall is a tiny portable application that able to uninstall Windows applications with scans for leftover registry keys, files and folders. KUninstaller allows the users to sort the programs by any columns and provide detailed information. Apart of that, it is featured with Finder function that show a new dialog with options to explore, uninstall, close window and kill process when the users drag the Finder icon and drop it on any programs.

The KUninstaller includes the following features:

  • Search items with key words.
  • Supports Unicode.
  • Show more detail information.
  • Locate key in Registry.
  • Much faster than “Windows Add or Remove Programs”.
  • Drag and drop file name or shortcut of installed program.
  • Use Finder to uninstall running program or desktop icons, quick launch toolbar, taskbar or system tray.
  • Scan for leftover registry keys, files and folders to delete.

Since it is portable, the users can simply download and unzip it to any folder. This application supports both Windows XP and 2000.

Download



MapSplitter is a tiny Java based utility designed for only a single purpose which is to split a large jpeg image file into multiple images with only a few clicks. It is not an image editing tool but allows users to split an image file. This tiny application works on any operating system which supports Java. Once the download is completed, users can double click the executable file, mapsplitter_fat.jar, to start the splitting process.


WinRAP v1.0 (Windows Running Applications Protector), it allows users to instantly hide any running programs to prevent them from being seen by unauthorized third parties. Once download the utility, without the need to install it, users can directly execute the program for immediate use. After it has been successfully launched, the utility will display all the running applications instantly and users can selectively highlight on specific running applications and just followed by a ‘Hide’ button click, the applications will disappear from your screen. Similarly, a click on ‘Unhide’ button will bring them back to its original state, allowing all users to view it like normal way. Not to worry about if you have multiple hidden applications but unable to recall them all, the utility will list them down under ‘List of hidden applications’ so that you are aware of which one is still running silently in background consuming some of your CPU cycles. Besides, it allows users to set password (default is 1234) to access to all the configuration such as to ‘Unhide All When Closing’, ‘Disable Task Manager When Locking’ and many more as well as Hotkeys to unlock stealth mode locking and etc. Some other bonuses include Hide Desktop Icons, Hide/Unhide all that make it a tiny but yet useful tool for those that are looking for way to make running programs invisible especially when trying to share desktop screen for discussion.


HLP Free Memory Optimizer helps to free up some of the RAM usage so that your system can be maintained at optimized level all the time. The free utility is very easy to be used. Once install and launch the utility, users will be brought to a simple GUI. Over here, it will show the memory information such as Total RAM, Used RAM and Free RAM so that you are aware of how much RAM usage has been utilized. Besides, there are two optimization methods that users can configure, either Manual or Automatic mode. For Manual mode, there is a way to configure the optimization level ranging from Best, Better and Good depending on own needs. To get the best optimization, just select Best option and then click on ‘Optimize Now’ will execute and free up memory as desired. On top of this, users can choose to automatically run the memory optimizer when it reaches certain predefined condition, for instance: When free RAM drops below certain threshold (in percentage) and etc.


Hard Drive Powerwash allows users to clean up some clutter files such as files that are left over whenever you uninstall program or temporary internet files to free them up from your hard disk space. Once install and launch the utility, users will be brought to a GUI whereby there is a way to do simple setup before running the utility. By default, no filter will be used and it will scan the whole hard disk drive for files that can be cleared. Alternatively, users can selectively scan Internet files which include browser cache, history, cookies or only do drive cleaning with specific types of files to be searched which would definitely narrow down the searching criteria and shorten the searching time. Once everything are defined, just click on ‘Analyze’ radio button and it will scan all the selected categories of files with proper display for quick glance ready for deletion. Next, click on delete will send all these to recycle bin. Good thing is, it will able to summarize how much total space you are able to save after deleting some of these unused trash files.



Input hardware are those components which are outside of the computers CPU and provide information and instructions to the computer.

Example:

1) A light pen is having the light sensitive tip that is used to draw directly on the computers video screen or to select information on the screen by pressing a clip in the light pen or by pressing the light pen against the surface of the screen. The pen contains the light sensors that identifies which portion of the screen it is passed over.

2) A mouse is a pointing device which contains the detection device usually a ball, LED(light emitting diode), or low powered laser on the bottom that enables the user to control the movement of the cursor. To select items or choose commands on the screen user presses a button on the mouse.

3) A joystick is a pointing device composed of a lever that moves in multiple directions to navigate a cursor or other graphical object on the screen.

4) A keyboard is a device that allows the user to type text/commands to the computer. Some keyboard have special function keys or integrated pointing devices such as trackballs or touch sensitive regions that let the cursor movement according to the user's finger's movement.

5) Touch screen displays, which are video displays with a special touch sensitive surface. Examples- ticket kiosks in airport and ATM( automatic teller machine ), Apple iPhone and Nintendo DS video game system.

6) Optical scanner uses light sensing equipment to convert images such as pictures or text into electronic signals that can be manipulated by computer. For example a photograph can be scanned into a computer and can be included in a text document created on that computer. The two most common scanner types are flatbed scanner and handheld scanner. Flatbed scanner is similar to the office photocopier and handheld scanner has to pass manually across the image to be processed.

7) A microphone is a device to convert sound into signals that can be stored, manipulated, and played back by the computer.

8) A voice recognition module is a device that converts spoken words into information that computer can recognize and process.

9) A modem stands for modulator-demodulator is a device that connects a computer to a telephone line or cable television network and allows information transmitted to or received from another computer. A computer that sends or receives information must be connected to a modem. A digital signal sent by one computer is converted by the modem into analog signal, which is then transmitted by the telephone lines or television cables and received by the receiving modem, which converts signal back to the digital signal that the receiving computer can understand.

10) A network interface card (NIC) allows the computer to access the local area network(LAN) either through wire (UTP, STP, Coaxial etc) or wireless (Wi-Fi) connection. The majority of LAN's connect through the ethernet standard.

Features:
Manage Orkut;
Quote messages;
Toolbar in topics, scrapbook & testemonial;
Quick reply;
Signature;
Bookmark communities or topics;
Set a topic as chat;
Make menus;
Communities and topic list auto update;
Keyboard shortcuts;
Script auto update;
Orkut Community Manager;
Orkut Context Menu;
TinyUrl Decoder;
Virtual Keyboard Interface;
Multilanguage + More

Steps:
1) Install mozilla firefox
2) Install add on GreaseMonkey in mozilla firefox
3) Install this script using greasemonkey
Install

Thats all!!

Type regedit in Vista's Start Menu Search Bar and hit Enter to open the Registry Editor. Navigate to the following key:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT \ Directory \ Background \ shellex \ ContextMenuHandlers \ ContextMenuHandlers
Rt click on the ContextMenuHandlers key, and select New.



Click Key. Now name the new registry key as Windows Switcher.

Now for this key, in the THS pane, double click on the Default value name and set the value data for the key as

{3080F90E-D7AD-11D9-BD98-0000947B0257}


Click OK. Exit regedit.


Using the Windows Vista Task Scheduler also offers a way to shutdown your computer at particular times.
Click Start > All Program > Accessories > SystemTools > Task Scheduler.
On the RHS, in the Actions column, click on Create Basic Task.
Give it a name like Shutdown and some add a Description too.
Click Next. Here select the Trigger. Lets say you want it to shutdown just One time, then select that option and click Next. It will ask you for the date and the time. Click Next.
In the Actions section, select Start a program. Click Next.
Here under Program/script, type:
C:\Windows\System32\shutdown.exe
and under Add arguments, type: /s


Click Next.

You will now be presented with a Summary. Click Finish. Your Vista will now shutdown at the pre configured time.




1) Type gpedit.msc in the Start Search box, and then press ENTER to open the Group Policy Editor.



Under Computer Configuration > expand Administrative Templates > expand Windows Components > click Autoplay Policies.

In the RHS Details pane, double-click Turn off Autoplay to open the Properties box.

Click Enabled, and then select All drives in the Turn off Autoplay on box to disable Autorun on all drives.

2) You can also open the Control Panel


Control Panel > Hardware and Sound > AutoPlay

and set the options as per your preferences.


open regedit and navigate to

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Folder\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers

Create a subkey and name it {a2a9545d-a0c2-42b4-9708-a0b2badd77c8}

Exit.






This will add Pin To Start Menu option to your folders too. To be able to use Pin to the Start Menu context menu item, you have to press the SHIFT key and then rt click on the folder.

Type regedit in Vista's start menu search box and hit enter to open the Registry Editor.
Navigate to key
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\AllFilesystemObjects\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers
Rt Click on it > New Key > Name > Move To > Enter following value:
{C2FBB631-2971-11D1-A18C-00C04FD75D13}
This will add Move To to the context menu.
To add Copy To, name the key Copy To instead, and give it value
{C2FBB630-2971-11D1-A18C-00C04FD75D13}
This is how your Right Click Context Menu will now look.




















This is how your registry will then look.








In case you find that Send To is missing from your rt click context menu, to add it back, name the key Send To instead, and give it value
{7BA4C740-9E81-11CF-99D3-00AA004AE837}



To launch your favorite screensaver in a click, you can create its shortcut on your desktop. You can search for the screensavers in the System32 folder by typing *.scr in the search bar.







Right click on your desktop. Select New > Shortcut. Copy-Paste
%systemroot%\system32\Aurora.scr /s
into the location box > Next. In name enter Aurora, and click on Finish. Give it an appropriate icon.

If you browse in C:\Windows\System32\ folder, you will come across and .exe file named as tsdiscon.exe. This is the Session Discontinuation Utility.
This process disconnects the current session, and can be used to create a shortcut to switch users in a click.
To do so, Rt click on desktop > New > Shortcut > Type
C:\Windows\System32\tsdiscon.exe
Click Next > Name it 'Switch Users' > Finish.
Give it a suitable icon.

Create a SHUTDOWN Shortcut thus:
Right click on an empty area on your desktop.
Select New>Shortcut.
In the first box of the Create Shortcut Wizard, type : Shutdown -s -t 00
Click Next. Name the shortcut : Shutdown , and click Finish.
Then select an appropriate icon for it !
Create a RESTART Shortcut thus:
In the first box of the Create Shortcut Wizard, type : Shutdown -r -t 00
Click Next. Name the shortcut : Restart , and click Finish.
select an appropriate icon for it now !
Create a LOG OFF Shortcut thus:
In the first box of the Create Shortcut Wizard, type : Shutdown.exe -L
Click Next. Name the shortcut : LogOff, and click Finish.
Then select an appropriate icon for it.
Create A SUSPEND shortcut thus:
In the Create Shortcut wizards location text box appears, type: rundll32.exe PowrProf.dll, SetSuspendState
Give the shortcut a name like Hibernate.

To view the registered owner of your Windows Vista operating system, click Start, type "winver", and hit Enter.

To change the registered owner information: (make sure you backup the registry before making changes)

  • Click the Start Button, type "regedit" (Registry Editor) in the search box, and press Enter
  • Click Continue to get past the User Account Control hurdle
  • On the left panel, double-click to navigate to the key:
    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows NT \ CurrentVersion
  • On the right panel, double-click on RegisteredOwner
  • In the Value Data box, type the new name that you want to appear as the registered owner, then click OK
  • Double-click RegisteredOrganization, and type inthe new organization in the Value Data box
  • Click OK
  • Exit the Registry Editor, run winver again to view the change

Sharing folders in Vista can be difficult. Vista will allow the permissions to be set, even though you have to do it manually by Right Clicking, then hitting "share", and manually setting the permissions to everyone, but then when you try to access the folders from a remote computer, it will say "access is denied".

Here's how to share the root of a drive under Vista: (ie: Drive D: or E: Not Drive c: or the Vista OS drive)
(Note that Vista will not let you change permissions on certain folders.)

This may take time to apply the changes toall the files permissions.

  • In the Start menu click Computer
  • Right click on the drive and click on properties
  • Click the security tab
  • Click Edit
  • Click Add
  • Click Advanced
  • Click Find Now
  • Scroll down and Select "Everyone"
  • Click OK and OK
  • Select the permissions you want
  • Click Apply ; Click OK

Quick Launch users will appreciate being able to take advantage of the Quick launch shortcut keys . Instead of clicking on the shortcut icons, hold down the Windows key and then type the shortcut number. This will work for the first ten shortcuts.

For example, to start the first quick launch shortcut:

  • press and hold Windows Key + 1

There are some new Windows key shortcuts available in Windows Vista for your clicking pleasure.

  • Windows Key + G (cycles through the Gadgets)
  • Windows Key + L (locks the computer)
  • Windows Key + U (activates the Ease Of Use Center)
  • Windows Key + X (cycles through the Mobility Center)
  • Windows Key + Spacebar (moves the focus to the Sidebar)
  • Windows Key + Pause (opens the System Properties portion of Control Panel)
  • CTRL + Windows Key + Tab (opens persistent Flip 3D)

And of course there are the usual key shortcuts from previous Windows versions:

  • Windows Key + D (toggles showing the desktop)
  • Windows Key + E (opens File Explorer)
  • Windows Key + F (opens a search window)
  • Windows Key + R (opens the Run window)
  • Windows Key + T (cycles through the tabs of the applications on the taskbar)

To show Windows Vista "super hidden" files, that is, those files that are normally hidden from the user, you'll need to accesss the registry editor.

To turn on (or off) super hidden files: (make sure you backup the registry before making changes)

  • Click the Start Button, type "regedit" (Registry Editor) in the search box, and press Enter
  • Click Continue to get past the User Account Control hurdle
  • On the left panel, double-click to navigate to the key:
    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced
  • On the right panel, double-click on Superhidden
  • In the Value Data box, change the value to "1"
  • Click OK
  • Exit the Registry Editor
  • Restart your machine for the changes to take effect

To log on to your system automatically, bypassing the login screen, do the following:

  • Click on the Start Button
  • Type netplwiz in the search box and then hit Enter (this loads the Advanced User Accounts control panel)
  • In the Users tab, uncheck the box next to "Users must enter a user name and password to use this computer."
  • Click on the Apply button at the bottom of the User Accounts window
  • When the Automatically Log On dialog box appears, enter your password in the two fields where it's asked and then clickOK
  • Click OK on the User Accounts window to complete the process

After that, when your computer system starts up, Windows Vista will log on automatically.

You already know that +R opens the RUN command box, which is now nested inside the All Programs menu. If you really miss it though, you can still add it back to the Start Menu:

  • Right Click on the Start Button and click Properties
  • In the Start Menu tab, click the Customize... button
  • Scroll down to "Run command" and check the box
  • Click OK; click OK again to close the window

The RUN command will now show up in your Start Menu as "Command Prompt".

One nice addition to Windows Vista is the ability to display the time in other time zones, which is good if you like to travel, or would like to know the time without doing the timezone math in your head.

  • Click on the Clock
  • Click "Change date and time settings..."
  • Click on the Additional Clocks tab
  • Check the box next to "Show this clock"
  • Click on the "Select time zone:" drop-down menu and click on a time zone
  • Click in the "Enter display name:" text box and type in a name for your clock
  • Click OK

To see the additional clock and time, simply hover your mouse over the Clock.

If you don't want certain programs or applications to run automatically on startup, there's an easy way to disable them.

  • Click Start
  • Type msconfig in the search box
  • Click Continue in the User Account Control to continue
  • Click on the Startup Tab
  • Uncheck any boxes in the "Startup Items" that you wish to disable or click the Disable All button (not recommended)
  • Click OK

If you need to re-enable any of the programs, go through the same process and check the boxes of programs you wish to run automatically on startup.

This is an interesting and useful utility that will tell you the status of the computer you are working on that is using Windows Vista. If you are connected to the Internet, the utility will be able to tell you if the Windows Vista version you are using is fully licensed or not.

  • Click Start
  • Type cmd in the search box and hit ENTER
  • Type slmgr.vbs -dli in the command line
  • Wait a few seconds for a Windows Script Host pop-up window to display the License Activation Status
  • Click OK

The pop-up will also tell you the edition you are using, a description, as well as the license status.

Firmware

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Firmware are the software routines stored in the read only memory(ROM). It stays intact even in the absence of electrical power. It generally contains the start up routines and the low level I/O instructions. It falls between software and hardware.

BIOS

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BIOS(basic input/output system) is the set of routines to support the transfer of information between the elements of the computer system such as memory, disk and monitor. The BIOS or ROM BIOS is usually built into the machines read only memory(ROM). BIOS is invisible to the computer users but can be accessed by the programmers.

Bus

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Bus is the set of wires used for the data transfer among the components of the computer system. It connects CPU, disk-drive controller, memory, and I/O ports and enable them for data transfer. The bus is usually controlled by the microprocessor. The bus can carry different types of the information. They can carry data as well as addresses. They also carries the control signals to ensure that different components of the system are working without conflict.

Buses are categorized by the number of bits they can transfer at a time. A 8-bit data bus can transfer 8 bits of data at a time where as a 16-bit data bus can transfer 16 bits of data at a time. Buses are integral to the internal data transfer but when some external devices are added through the expansion slot they makes the electrical connection to the bus ans becomes the part of the system.

The pentium microprocessor manufactured by Intel Corporation and is used as a CPU in the variety of Pc's. It contains more than 3 million transistors.









The CPU is the main processor in the computer system. It is generally a a single microprocessor made from wafer of semiconducting material usually silicon. It is actually a interconnected processing units, each are responsible for one aspect of the CPU's function. The CPU interprets software instructions, perform calculations and comparisons, take logical decisions, store temporary information's, keeps track of the current step of the execution of a program, and communicate with the rest of the computer.

It is the electronic circuit that functions as the CPU of computer and provides computational control. They are also used in advanced electronic systems such as printers, automobiles etc. The microprocessor is one of the type of ultra large integrated circuit. The modern microprocessor consists of transistors which act as a electronic amplifier, oscillator, or switches in addition to other components such as registers, diodes, capacitors and wires. All these components are packed into an area having the size nearly a postage stamp.

The microprocessors consists of several different sections:

-The arithmetic/logic unit(ALU) performs several calculations on numbers and makes logical decisions.
-Registers are memory locations which stores the temporary information's.
-The control unit(CU) deciphers the programs.
-Buses carries digital information through out the chip and computer.
-Local memory is used for on-chip computations.
-Cache memory is used to speed up data access on external storage devices.

The modern microprocessor uses the bus width of 64 bits i.e 64 bits of date can be transferred at a time. The crystal oscillator of the microprocessor provides clock signal to coordinate the activities of the microprocessor. The clock speed in the microprocessor allows billions of instructions to be executed every second.

Hardware

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The physical components of any computer system is known as hardware. Example: keyboard, monitor, harddisk etc. The function of these components can be typically divided into three categories:
1)input
2)output
3)storage
These components are connected to the CPU via wires or bus. The interaction between the input and output hardware is controlled by the basic input output system(BIOS)

Most of the computers that are connected together by a LAN are workstations—
computers that are used directly by people. A workstation can be almost any
computer—a PC running Windows, a Macintosh, or a computer running UNIX.
One LAN can combine different types of workstations. For the LAN to share an
Internet connection, each workstation’s operating system must be able to support
TCP/IP.

Intranet

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An intranet is a private network that uses TCP/IP and other Internet standard protocols. Because it uses TCP/IP, an intranet can support
TCP/IP-based protocols, such as HTTP (the protocol that web browsers use to talk to
web servers), and SMTP and POP (the protocols that e-mail client programs use to
send and receive mail). An intranet can run web servers, web clients, mail servers,
and mail clients—it can work like a small, private Internet. Like the Internet, most
intranets also carry lots of e-mail traffic. Intranets
enable organizations to set up web sites and online discussion groups for their staff,
invisible to the outside world.

Virus

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A virus is a self-replicating program, frequently with destructive side effects. Viruses
that spread via e-mail attachments are called worms. Viruses can’t travel in plain text, like e-mail messages. They contain programming,
so they need to be in binary (nontext) files. You can receive a virus as an e-mail attachment
or in a file you download. Document and spreadsheet files can contain viruses, too—
macro viruses are viruses that make use of a word processor’s or spreadsheet program’s
ability to execute instructions (macros), as well as to display a file.

Firewall

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A firewall is a program that controls what information passes from one network to
another. You can use a firewall between your PC and the Internet to stop outsiders
from getting access to your PC via the Internet.

How Firewalls Work
Each packet on the Internet is addressed to a specific port number and you can control access
by port. As a general rule, most people use only a few ports for Internet communication:
port 21 (for FTP, or file transfer), port 25 (for outgoing e-mail), port 80 (for web pages),
and port 110 (for incoming e-mail). If your computer is on a local area network, it may
use port 139 for file and printer sharing. You do not want outsiders to be able to use
this port, so you may want to block anyone on the Internet from accessing port 139.

A firewall controls which ports are open, refusing to respond to packets addressed
to other ports. Some firewalls enable you to specify what types of packets can cross the
firewall—for example, requests for web pages might be allowed outgoing, but not
incoming.
Some firewalls control only incoming information. For example, Windows ME and
XP come with the Internet Connection Firewall (ICF). ICF
prevents some types of incoming Internet traffic based on the port number, so that
hackers can’t detect that your computer is there, much less access its files.

However, with the advent of Trojan horse programs, you also need to worry about
outgoing Internet traffic. A Trojan horse is a program that installs itself on your
computer (usually arriving as a virus). It then sends packets out from your computer,
with information about your files or what you have been typing lately (including
passwords). A Trojan horse program can allow hackers to log onto your computer and
run programs on it, send e-mail (usually spam) through your computer, or cause your computer to participate in a denial-of-service attack, in which many computers
simultaneously bombard an Internet server with thousands of requests for information,
overloading the server.


Many large organizations have LANs that enable people within the organization to share
files. Although the LAN is connected to the Internet, most organizations install a firewall
to block Internet users from accessing information on the LAN.

Virtual Private Networking (VPN) provides a way for an authorized computer on the
Internet to tunnel through a firewall and connect to a computer on a LAN. To connect to a LAN through a firewall, the firewall must support Point-to-Point
Tunneling Protocol (PPTP), which lets VPN connect you through the firewall. Your
organization’s LAN administrator sets up a VPN server, the program on the LAN that
provides PPTP. Both the VPN client (the computer making the connection) and the
VPN server must have Internet connections.

In a few urban areas, you can use wireless Internet access. To set it up, you attach a radio
modem, about the size of a deck of cards, to your laptop. Wireless service (also called
WAP, or Wireless Application Protocol) made its debut at analog speeds (28.8 Kbps), but
it is being upgraded to 128 Kbps, which is faster than dial-up but slower than most DSL.

Another way to connect to the Internet via wireless is by using a digital cell phone
that includes Internet connectivity. Because these devices have tiny screens, limited
keyboards, no mouse, and slow connection rates, Internet content must be tailored to
them and is usually limited to text.

Some ISPs offer wireless connections to personal data assistants (PDAs) such as the
BlackBerry, Palm, Compaq iPaq, or HandSpring Visor. These small devices have small
screens, but you can use them to read your e-mail and browse the Web. Like cell phones,
PDAs require web content to be tailored to their small screens and their slow connection
rates.

An online service is a commercial service that enables you to connect to and access
its proprietary information system. Most online services also provide an Internet
connection, e-mail, the World Wide Web, and, sometimes, other Internet services.
Online services usually require special programs to connect to and use your account.
The three most popular online services are the following:

1) America Online (AOL, at www.aol.com) is the world’s most popular
online service, with a wide range of AOL-only chat rooms. To connect to
AOL, read AOL e-mail, browse the Web, and access other AOL servers, you
use AOL’s proprietary program. AOL doesn’t provide a POP (mail) server,
so you must read your AOL mail by using the AOL software, by accessing
AOL’s web site, or by using Netscape 6’s Mail program. (AOL owns Netscape.)

2) CompuServe (at www.compuserve.com) is one of the oldest online
services, with an excellent selection of proprietary technical- and
business-oriented discussion groups. AOL purchased CompuServe, so the
two services may merge. CompuServe has access phone numbers in dozens
of countries. To connect to CompuServe and access its services, you use
CompuServe’s proprietary program.

3) Microsoft Network (MSN, at www.msn.com) is Microsoft’s online service.
You connect to MSN by using Dial-Up Networking, send and receive
e-mail by using Outlook or Outlook Express, and browse the Web by using
Internet Explorer.

Digital Satellite Systems (DSS), or direct broadcast satellite, lets you get Internet
information by satellite. To connect, you use a
24-inch antenna, a coaxial cable, a PC adapter card, and Windows-based software.
With early satellite systems, you received data from the Internet at a high speed via the
satellite, but to send data to the Internet, you needed a dial-up connection and an ISP. But early satellite systems does not require the ISP at all. Uploads and download are handled by the satellite only. Download speeds can be as high as 500 Mbps,
although there is a slight delay before the data begins flowing, which can affect highly
interactive Internet applications like games.

The same network that brings you dozens of TV channels can now bring you millions of web sites. The problem is that the cable network was designed to
move information in one direction, from the broadcaster to you. Downstream speeds
are impressive—the line can theoretically bring you data as fast as 30 Mbps, much faster
than your computer can handle it—but upstream speed depends on line quality. Large
cable companies are spending money to upgrade their networks to hybrid fiber-coaxial
(HFC) to better handle two-way traffic. Smaller providers can’t afford the upgrade, so
they have you use a phone line at 28.8 Kbps for upstream data.
From a large company with an HFC network, expect downstream speeds of 1 to
2 Mbps or more, and upstream speeds between 500 Kbps and 1 Mbps. These numbers
aren’t exact, because you share digital cable capacity with your neighbors. If more of
them are online, you compete with them for bandwidth.

Before the advent of dial-up PPP accounts, most Internet accounts were text-only
UNIX shell accounts, and these accounts are still available from a few ISPs. You run
a terminal-emulation program (a program that pretends that your PC is a computer
terminal) on your PC to connect to an Internet host computer—Windows comes
with HyperTerminal, a good terminal emulation program. Most Internet hosts run
UNIX, a powerful but frequently confusing operating system, and you have to type
UNIX commands to use a UNIX shell account. To send and receive e-mail or
browse the Web, you run text-only programs, such as Pine (the most popular
UNIX e-mail program) and Lynx (the most widely used UNIX web browser).
When you use a UNIX shell account, you don’t see graphics or use a mouse, and
you can’t easily store information on your own computer.

If you need to transfer very large amounts of data or
run Internet server software, contact your telephone company for a leased line, the same
type of phone line that organizations use to connect corporate offices. Leased lines come
in various speeds, including T1 (1.5 megabits per second)
and T3 (44 megabits per second, enough). If you don’t need quite
that much speed, you can ask for a fractional-T1 (half or a quarter the speed of a T1 line).

Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) lines are also available from many local
telephone companies. ISDN is an upgraded phone line that can be used for faster
Internet access and for regular voice calls. Using one line, you can talk on the phone
while you’re surfing the Web. Like DSL, ISDN is all digital, which means that data
doesn’t have to be converted to an analog signal for transmission.

The ISDN service intended for residential use is Basic Rate Interface (BRI). On one
ISDN line, BRI provides two 64-Kbps channels, or B channels, and one 16-Kbps channel,
or D channel. The D channel is mostly used for signaling—for instance, to indicate that
the line is busy. The B channels are where the action is. When the two B channels are
combined, you have a 128-Kbps line to the Internet. That’s roughly twice the speed of
the fastest analog modem, 56 Kbps. If you want to talk on the phone or send a fax, your
Internet access drops down to one 64-Kbps B channel, while the other B channel is used
for voice. Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) lines, like DSL lines, are all-digital,
high-speed phone lines that provide a faster way to connect to the Internet.

To connect your computer to an ISDN line, you need an ISDN adapter, which is like
a modem. The cost of an ISDN line usually depends on the number of minutes of use.

Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) is a family of all-digital, high-speed lines that use your
normal phone wires with special modems on either end. Most DSL lines are actually
ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line). ADSL is optimized for the way many people
use the Internet: more downloads than uploads. The line is asymmetric, because it has
more capacity for data received by your computer (such as graphics, video, audio, and
software upgrades) than for data that you send (such as e-mail and browser commands).

The downstream
bandwidth (data transfer speed from the Internet to your computer) can range from
384 Kbps to 8 megabits per second (Mbps). The upstream bandwidth (speed from your
computer to the Internet) can range from 90 Kbps to 768 Kbps. In real life, however,
speeds are usually much lower and depend on the distance between you and the phone
company’s Central Office (CO) or wherever the DSL modem at their end is located.

With a DSL line, you can connect your computer to the Internet and talk on the
phone at the same time on the same phone line. DSL
lines can’t be more than 18,000 feet (5,460 meters) from the phone company’s central
office (or switching point for your exchange).

A dial-up connection to the Internet works over an ordinary phone line. Dial-up
connections use the Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP) and are also called PPP accounts. Early
dial-up connections used older protocols (SLIP and CSLIP), but these protocols are no
longer used.

To use a dial-up account, you need a modem. (To distinguish dial-up modems from
newer, high-speed modems, they are also called analog modems or dial-up modems.) Most
computers come with an internal modem—check the back of the computer for a phone
jack (RJ-11 jack). Most ISPs support modems at speeds of 28.8 kilobits per second (Kbps)
and 56 Kbps. You connect only when you want to use Internet services and disconnect
(hang up) when you are done.

To connect, you need a PPP-compatible communications program, such as Dial-Up
Networking, which comes with all versions of Windows since Windows 95. This program
dials the phone by using your modem, connects to your ISP, logs into your account by
using your user name and password, and then establishes a PPP connection, thus
connecting your computer to the Internet. While connected, you can use a variety of
programs to read your e-mail, browse the Web, and access other information from the
Internet. When you are done, you use your communications program to disconnect
from your Internet account.

You use one other type of Internet server almost every time that you request information
from an Internet host. A Domain Name System (DNS) server translates between the numeric
IP addresses that identify each host computer on the Internet and the corresponding
domain names. People prefer to use host names because they are easier to type and
remember, but actual Internet communications use the numeric addresses. For example,
if your browser requests a web page from the Yahoo! web site, which has the host name www.yahoo.com, a DNS server translates that name to 204.71.200.69, one of
Yahoo’s web servers, and then sends the request to that IP address.

One host computer can run more than one server program. For example, a small ISP
might have one computer running a POP server, SMTP server, web server, and news
server. To keep requests for information straight, each type of server responds to
packets sent to specific ports (input for a specific Internet service). Ports are numbered,
and standard port numbers used throughout the Internet. You almost never need to
type port numbers, but here are some widely used port numbers in case you do:

Port Number Internet Service

21 FTP (file transfer)
23 Telnet (remote login)
25 SMTP (mail relaying)
80 World Wide Web
110 POP3 (storage of incoming mail)
194 (as well as 6667 and many others) IRC (online chat)
532 Usenet newsgroups (discussion groups)

Many of the host computers on the Internet offer services to other computers on the
Internet. For example, your ISP probably has a host computer that handles your incoming
and outgoing mail. Computers that provide services for other computers to use are called
servers. The software run by server computers to provide services is called server software.

Conversely, many of the computers on the Internet use servers to get information.
For example, when your computer dials into an Internet account, your e-mail program
downloads your incoming messages from your ISP’s mail server. Programs that ask
servers for services are called clients. Your e-mail program is more properly called an
e-mail client.

Here are some types of servers and clients that you may encounter:

1) Mail servers handle incoming and outgoing e-mail. Specifically, Post Office Protocol
(POP or POP3) and IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol) servers store incoming
e-mail, whereas Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) servers relay outgoing e-mail.
Mail clients get incoming messages from, and send outgoing messages to, a mail
server, and enable you to read, write, save, and print messages.

2) Web servers store web pages and transmit them in response to requests from
web clients, which are usually called browsers.

3) FTP servers store files that you can transfer to or from your computer if you have
an FTP client.

4) News servers store Usenet newsgroup articles that you can read and send if you
have a news client or newsreader.

5) IRC servers act as a switchboard for Internet Relay Chat (IRC) channels. To
participate, you use an IRC client.

So that people don’t have to remember strings of numbers, host computers also have
names. The name of each host computer consists of a series of words separated by dots.
The last part of the domain name is called the top-level domain (TLD) and indicate the type of organization that owns the domain. The original seven three-letter TLDs are the following:

com -- Originally for commercial organizations, but now used by
individuals, government agencies, and nonprofits as well

net -- Internet service providers and other network-related companies

org -- Noncommercial (often nonprofit) organizations

gov -- government agencies

mil -- military

edu -- Educational domains

int -- International organizations like NATO and the International Red Cross

More three-or-more-letter TLDs are coming into use, such as these:

aero -- Airlines

arpa -- Internet infrastructure (named after the U.S. government agency that
originally created the Internet)

biz -- Businesses

coop -- Cooperatives

info -- Anyone

museum -- Museum

name -- Individuals

Two-letter TLDs indicate the country in which the organization that owns the
computer is located. U.S. organizations can register domains that end with us. Canadian
organizations, for instance, usually have the TLD ca.

The last two parts of a host computer name constitute the domain. The second-to-last
part of the name (the second-level domain) is chosen by the organization that owns the
computer and is usually some variant of the organization’s name. e.g Computers at the McGraw-Hill publishing company are named
with the domain mcgraw-hill.com.

Because most organizations own more than one computer on the Internet, most
host computer names have at least one more part, preceding the domain name and
called a third-level domain (or sometimes a subdomain). This additional part (or parts)
is assigned by the organization itself. e.g mail.yahoo.com, www.yahoo.com

One host computer can have many different names. For example, many ISPs also
offer domain hosting, which means that they allow your domain name to be applied to
one of their host computers. Domain hosting enables you to have your own domain
name, even if you don’t have a host computer.

Each host computer on the Internet has a unique number, called its IP address. IP
addresses are in the format xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx, where each xxx is a number from 0 to 255.
IP addresses identify the host computers, so that packets of information reach the correct
computer. You may have to type IP addresses when you configure your computer for
connection to the Internet.

If you connect to the Internet by using a dial-up account, your Internet service
provider (ISP) assigns your computer an IP address each time that you connect. This
system enables your ISP to get along with fewer IP addresses, because it needs only
enough IP addresses for the number of users who are connected simultaneously. If you use
a high-speed DSL or cable Internet account, you may have a static (unchanging) IP address.

Computers on a local area network (LAN) usually have IP addresses that are reserved
for use on LANs rather than on the Internet itself. These addresses are usually in the
range 192.168.x.x or 169.254.x.x. A server on the LAN usually assigns them: the most
common IP assignment server is called DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol).

Each computer on the Internet is called a host computer or host. They are connected by cables, phone lines, and satellite connections. They include large mainframe computers, smaller
minicomputers, and personal computers. When your PC or Mac dials into an Internet
account, your computer is an Internet host, too.

Computers connected to the Internet communicate by using the Internet Protocol (IP),
which slices information into packets (chunks of data to be transmitted separately) and
routes them to their destination. Because the Internet was designed to operate even
during a war, it uses dynamic routing, so that even if one part of the network is knocked
out, packets can be rerouted around the problem.

Along with IP, most computers on the Internet communicate
with Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), and the combination is called TCP/IP.

Syndication is, simply put, the practice of offering content to publishers.
This is commonly seen as cartoon strips in newspapers,
where the artist syndicates his work to newspaper publishers.
More than one newspaper can carry the same syndicated cartoon
on the same day. The online version of syndication works on similar
lines: someone who creates content—like news sites or bloggers—
allows the content to be passed on to those who would like
to publish it on their site, or just be informed of new posts.

The message that is sent out is called a feed, which besides the
core content of the creator also contains meta information. There
are mainly two formats in which the feed is structured—RSS and
Atom, both of which are based on the XML file format. RSS or
Really Simple Syndication (or Rich Site Summary) is the more commonly
used format (there are different versions of RSS including
one called RDF) and it is common to refer to a feed as an RSS feed
even though it may be an Atom feed.

To be able to display the feed, one needs an application that
can recognise the main formats. A standalone application is called
a feed reader or feed aggregator. Newer browsers like Opera 9 and
IE7 include an RSS feed reader, as do some e-mail clients.
Additionally there are Web sites that can offer similar functionality
as a standalone client.

Websites that create RSS feeds have links to them on the site. If
the browser supports RSS feeds, clicking on the link will launch
the inbuilt client or the external feed reader.

The list of sites offering a feed can be had from many online
sources, like syndic8.com. Some sites offer a list of feed links as a
file. Such a list is created in OPML (Outline Processor Markup language)
which is also based on XML, and all feed readers are capable
of reading/opening it. Lists of feeds created by you can also be
saved as an OPML file which makes it easier to open these feeds in
another feed reader.

Cross Posting: This refers to the practice of posting the same message
to different newsgroups.

Binaries: These refer to the non text part of a message—usually
pictures, video files, audio files- that are attached with the message.
alt.binaries is an NG that is dedicated to posting messages
with binary content.

Retention Time: NNTP servers do not store topics indefinitely. The
duration for which they retain the topics is the retention time.
This varies from server to server.

Multi-part Message: This applies to messages with large attachments.
Since servers have limits on the file attachment sizes, users
split the attachment over more than one message. These messages
constitute a multi-part message. Newsreaders that support multipart
messages are capable of identifying the different parts of a
message and joining the attachment to recreate the complete file.

Message Encoding: This is a issue that is applicable more to binary
messages. Since NNTP servers were designed to handle text
data, to be able to pass binary data through them the message has
to be encoded. Different encoding schemes exist, like yEnc, MIME
and UUE. A user intending to download binaries should choose a
client capable of handling files encoded in either of these
schemes. yEnc is the most frequently used scheme in alt.binaries.

Header and Message Body: A header is that part that carries metainformation—
like NG address, poster address, subject, encoding
scheme etc. The message body carries the actual message or
attachment. Most clients can download just the headers of messages
allowing you to judge whether to download the message
body as well. This saves a lot of time and bandwidth.

Newsgroups (NG), Usenet and BBS are one of the oldest services
available on the Internet. They are similar to the forums that are
widespread in the Web at present, in that these are places where
people come to discuss, mostly through text messages.

The core of Usenet is a network of newsgroup servers. A newsgroup
server operates on the NNTP (Network News Transfer
Protocol), similar to a Web server running on HTTP. Each server
hosts various newgroups, and the content in all the newsgroup
servers is synchronised on a regular basis. A user starts off a discussion
by sending a message to the newsgroup address on any
NNTP server. Other users connected to the same NNTP address,
and tracking the newsgroup can read that message. After the
NNTP server syncs with other NNTP servers the message becomes
visible to all NNTP users (this process is sometimes also called message
propagation). Similarly, replies to the message are also sent by
users to the NNTP server they are connected to, which then syncs
the data with the rest of the servers. Usually Internet Service
Providers host NNTP servers for their subscribers, though such a
service doesn’t seem to be offered by any of those based in India.

In the original scheme of things there were eight top level
categories of newsgroups, namely soc, comp, sci, rec, talk,
humanities, news and misc. Each of the main categories caters
to specialised topics: “soc” for discussion related to society, politics
etc; “comp” for discussions on computers and related technology;
“sci” for scientific discussions; “talk” for discussion on
general topics; “news” to discuss latest events; “misc” for uncategorised
topics; and “rec” to discuss hobbies or other recreational
activities. The “alt” category was added later on, and
with fewer restrictions on creating new NGs in this category, it
now has the most NGs. Starting a new NG in the “alt” category
is more easier than starting one under any of the rest. (But it is
still more difficult than starting your own Web forum). Since
there is no central authority ensuring a strict classification for
NGs, it is common to find NGs under top level category names
besides the main 9, like “hr” specifically for discussions in
Hungarian, etc.

There are subgroups under each of these main categories, and
recursively, more subgroups under those. A newsgroup can be
uniquely identified by its address which consists of the names of
all the groups it is under—for example comp.lang.c++ is a newsgroup
discussing the C++ programming language which was classified
under the languages newsgroup for discussing languages,
under the comp groups for discussion on IT topics. It would be
hard to make even a rough estimate on the actual number of newgroups,
but it is fairly correct to state that one exists to cater to
nearly every human interest.

When compared with Web forums, newsgroups are comparatively
“serious” in nature. Unlike forums with their reps and smilies
and emoticons and avatars, newsgroups are predominantly all
text. But, there are NGs that contain pictures and other content.
In fact, alt.binaries is an NG that is specially used to post large files
like movies etc, almost just like P2P networks. It is probably an
indication of the age of the users, but the discussions in newsgroups
tend to be serious, and the language formal and mature.
Unlike forums where there will be a censor or admin to monitor
the content, anything goes in most newsgroups. People are free to
post any topic in a newsgroup, but if they expect any meaningful
discussion it is best to practice self-censorship. Off topic posts usually
get a gentle reminder to repost in the appropriate newsgroup
or are simply just ignored, just like all the spam that also floods
these servers.

Most NNTP servers charge for granting access to users. Some
require you to register. But there are others that are free. Since
binaries take up a lot of space and bandwidth, it is almost impossible
to come across free NNTP servers offering this category of NG.
It is important to realise that the content on most NNTP servers
are regularly purged. So the chances of finding older topics are
quite slim, but this varies from server to server with some having
a shorter retention time than others.

To access NGs a NNTP client or newsreader is needed. NGs can
be also be accessed from online sites like groups.google.com,
which regularly updates NG data. Google has its own version of
newsgroups called Google Groups, which should not be confused
with the original NNTP newgroups. And given Google’s never-ending
and ever increasing hunger to store and process data, one can
be fairly certain that the posts will be there for a long time to
come, even after the original NNTP servers have purged them.

Given the similarity between e-mail and newsgroup clients,
most e-mail clients can also work as NG readers (and vice versa!),
and include the necessary options to configure an NG account.
Though, they will lack some of the features present in applications
positioned primarily as NG readers.

Configuring an NG client is similar to configuring an e-mail
client, but much simpler. One only needs a newsgroup IP to begin
with. If the NG only allows registered users, a username and password
will also be needed. A list of free NNTP servers can be
obtained from online sites like http://www.dmoz.org/Computers
/Usenet/Public_News_Servers/

Firewalls

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Firewalls are devices—software and hardware—that prevent unauthorised
entry into a system. Any network interface has 65,535 possible
points of connection (these are called ports). When a PC is
connected to the network, these ports are accessible by any other
PC on the network. This presents an opportunity for those with
“malafide” intentions to access the contents of a PC without permission.
A firewall usually operates by blocking or monitoring all
ports of the interface. Traffic can be inbound or outbound. When
data is sent to a user’s PC, it is inbound traffic, and when the
user’s PC is sending data, it is outbound traffic. Usually, inbound
traffic is considered more dangerous since it could be a virus or
Trojan trying to gain access into the system. But outbound traffic
can also be harmful, since it could be an application that is surreptitiously
passing data to someone else—for example, a keylogger
could be operational.

These are applications that try to detect the contents of a message
you’ve sent. Any data that is transferred—e-mail, pictures, files—
are split into data packets and then sent over the Internet. Any
server through which the data packets pass can install a sniffer to
detect the contents of the packet. Files that contain binary data
like pictures or video can also be deciphered, but e-mail messages
and other textual content show up as text in the sniffing application,
making them easier to decipher. The encrypting of messages
is the only way to prevent this from happening.

Worms

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These are applications that autonomously transfer themselves
through a network. They do not need an associated file to spread
themselves. Worms can cause harm just by overloading any network
by moving from one node to another in huge numbers, thus
causing legitimate traffic to be delayed or disrupted—though they
can also carry malicious code.

Viruses

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Applications that tag along with other files; running the file causes
the virus in it to infect the system.

Trojans

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These are applications that gain entry into the user’s system by
posing as something else, often as free screensavers. After gaining
entry into the system and being installed or run by the user, they
can manipulate user data. Trojans have different behaviour once
they gain access into the system. For example, some allow unauthorised
access to a remote user into the user PC by opening up
ports, some can act as keyloggers, and some can prevent applications
from running—especially anti-virus applications.

This refers to the use of software to record the sequence of keys
pressed by the user. Usually, a report of the keystrokes are passed
on to the spyware controller on the Internet. Keystrokes of special
interest are passwords and usernames, or online banking details.

Spyware

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This refers to a class of applications that gains entry into a system
and monitors the user without his knowledge. Spyware report
back to a remote server and can result in the leaking out of confidential
details like usernames and passwords.

These are mostly of nuisance value. Browsers that have been
hijacked always open a certain Web page by default on start, or
change the home page of the browser, or do not allow certain sites
to be visited—usually anti-virus or anti-spyware sites. Trying to
uninstall or delete the responsible file proves futile, since some
part of the malware is loaded into memory when the system boots.

RootKits

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This type of application burst into the public consciousness after
it was found that Sony had been using this technique to hide its
anti-piracy applications from showing up. Rootkits are applications
that can hide other applications from showing up in any of
the system’s monitors. By inserting rootkits, it is possible for malware
to avoid detection even by anti-virus applications.

Phishing

Posted by Santosh comments (0)

This refers to the practice of making a user part with sensitive financial
and other personal details by posing as an authorised agent.
Usually, this takes the form of an e-mail asking the user to update
details at a bank or company Web page, the link to which is provided.
The Web page looks just like the original, and a gullible user
might enter the requested details, like username and password, to
log into his account. These details are routed to the scammer who
then misuses it at the real site, sometimes at the same time.

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