Protect yourself from the Conficker computer worm

The Conficker worm is a computer worm that can infect your computer and spread itself to other computers across a network automatically, without human interaction.

If you are an IT professional, please visit Conficker Worm: Help Protect Windows from Conficker.

Am I at risk of having the Conficker worm?

Most antivirus software could detect and block the Conficker worm, so if you have updated antivirus software on your computer, you are at a much lower risk of being infected by the Conficker worm.

If you or your network administrator have not installed the latest security updates from Microsoft and your antivirus provider, and if you have file-sharing turned on, the Conficker worm could allow remote code execution. Remote code execution allows an attacker to take control of your computer and use it for malicious purposes.

What does the Conficker worm do?

To date, security researchers have discovered two variants of the worm in the wild.

•	Win32/Conficker.A was reported to Microsoft on November 21, 2008.
•	Win32/Conficker.B was reported to Microsoft on December 29, 2008.
•	Win32/Conficker.C was reported to Microsoft on February 20, 2009.
•	Win32/Conficker.D was reported to Microsoft on March 4, 2009.

Win32/Conficker.B might spread through file sharing and via removable drives, such as USB drives (also known as thumb drives). The worm adds a file to the removable drive so that when the drive is used, the AutoPlay dialog will show one additional option.

The Conficker worm can also disable important services on your computer.

In the screenshot of the Autoplay dialog box below, the option Open folder to view files — Publisher not specified was added by the worm. The highlighted option — Open folder to view files — using Windows Explorer is the option that Windows provides and the option you should use.

If you select the first option, the worm executes and can begin to spread itself to other computers.

The option Open folder to view files — Publisher not specified was added by the worm.

How does the Conficker worm work?

Here’s an illustration of how the Conficker worm works.

How do I remove the Conficker worm?

If your computer is infected with the Conficker worm, you may be unable to download certain security products, such as the Microsoft Malicious Software Removal Tool or accessing certain Web sites, such as Microsoft Update. If you can't access those tools, try using the Windows Live OneCare Safety Scanner.

Where can I find more technical information about the Conficker worm and how can I stay up to date on the Conficker worm?

•	For additional information, see Centralized Information About the Conficker Worm.
•	For more technical information about the Conficker worm, see the Microsoft Malware Protection Center Virus Encyclopedia
•	Bookmark the Microsoft Malware Protection Center portal and the Microsoft Malware Protection Center blog for updated information.
•	For symptoms and detailed information about how to remove the Conficker worm, see Help and Support: Virus alert about the Conficker Worm.
•	To continue to get updated information on security, sign up for the Microsoft Security for Home Computer Users newsletter.

For more information, see How to prevent computer worms and How to remove computer worms.

source: http://www.microsoft.com/protect/computer/viruses/worms/conficker.mspx

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Steps how to FORMAT a PC!

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1. Insert the Windows XP CD-ROM and reboot the computer
If you see a message about hitting any key to boot the CD, do so now.
Otherwise, you will see a message about Setup inspecting your system.



2. MS-DOS portion of Setup begins
In the first stage of Setup, you will see a series of blue and gray MS-DOS-based screens. In the first step, you will be asked to press F6 if you need to install any third-party or RAID drivers.
Then, you can press F2 to initiate the Automated System Recovery (ASR) tool, a new XP feature that lets you recover non-booting systems from XP Setup. Ignore this.
Finally, Setup will load the files it needs to start a bare bones version of XP. This may take a few minutes.

3. Welcome to Setup
Finally, Setup begins. In this step, you can set up XP, launch the Recovery Console (another, more complicated system recovery tool), or quit.
Press ENTER to continue Setup, and it will examine your hard drives and removable disks.



4. Read the license agreement
Next, you'll have to agree to Microsoft's complex licensing agreement. Among the highlights: You don't actually own Windows XP and you can only install it on one PC.
No one reads this, I know, but it's probably a good idea to at least check it out.
Hit F8 to continue.



Upgrade versions only:
4b. Insert qualifying media
If you are attempting to clean install with a Windows XP Home or Pro Upgrade CD, you will see this screen, which requires you to insert your previous Windows CD in order to verify that you qualify for the Upgrade version.
Curiously, it says that you can use CDs from Windows NT 3.51 and Windows 95 in addition to those from 98, 98 SE, Millennium, or 2000, though these products cannot be upgraded to XP.
Once you've proven that you qualify, hit ENTER to continue.




5. Choose an installation partition
This crucial step lets you choose where to install XP. On a clean install, you will typically install to the C: drive, but you might have other ideas, especially if you plan to dual-boot with 9x. Setup will show you all of your available disks (in this case, just one) and let you create and delete partitions as needed. So, for example, if you have one disk, but would like to create two partitions, one for XP and one for your data, you can do that here.




6. Select the file system
If you created a new partition, or wish to change the file system of an existing partition, you can do so in the next step. Generally speaking, I recommend going with the NTFS file system, which is more secure than FAT.
Regardless of which file system you choose, be sure to select one of the "quick" format options (the top two choices), if you do need to format, since these will work much more quickly than a full format.
In this example, I've selected an existing FAT32 partition and elected to format it in NTFS format.



7. Optionally format the partition
If you did choose to change or format the file system, this will occur next. First, you'll be asked to verify the format. If you're installing XP on a system with more than one partition, especially one that still holds your data on one of the partitions, be sure you're formatting the correct partition.
Hit F to continue, and a yellow progress bar will indicate the status of the format. When this is complete, Setup will again examine your disks, and create a list of files to copy.



8. Setup folder copy phase and reboot
Setup will now copy system files to the system/boot partition(s) you just created. This will allow the PC to boot from the C: drive and continue Setup in GUI mode.
When the file copy is complete, Setup will initialize and save your XP configuration. It will then reboot your PC.
When the system reboots, you will probably see the "Press any key to boot from CD" message again. If this happens, do not press a key: Setup will now boot from your C: drive. In the event that you cannot prevent the CD-based Setup from reloading, eject the CD and reboot. Setup will ask for the CD when needed.




9. GUI Setup begins
Once the system reboots, you will be presented with the GUI Setup phase, which is much more attractive than the DOS-mode phase. As you progress through GUI Setup, you can read promotional information about XP on the right side of the screen if you're bored.
Next, your hardware devices are detected. This could take several minutes.



10. Regional and language Options
In the first interactive portion of GUI Setup, you can choose to customize the regional and language settings that will be used by XP, as well as the text input language you'd like. Users in the United States will not normally need to change anything here.

Click Next to continue.




11. Personalize your software
Now, enter your name and, optionally, your company.
The name you enter is not the same as your user name, incidentally, so you should enter your real name here (i.e. Paul Thurrott or whatever).
Click Next to continue.



12. Enter your product key

Now you must enter the 25-character product key that is located on the orange sticker found on the back of the CD holder that came with Windows XP. You cannot install XP without a valid product key.
Later on, you will be asked to activate and optionally register your copy of Windows XP. A product key can be used to install XP on only one PC.
Click Next to continue




13. Enter a computer name and administrator password
In the next phase of Setup, you can create a name for your computer (which is used to identify it on a network) and, optionally in Pro Edition only, a password for the system Administrator, the person who controls the PC (this will generally be you, of course).

Setup generates a random name for your PC, but it's always nasty looking, so I recommend renaming it to something more logical (Pauls_PC or whatever). After Setup is complete, you can provide a better description of the PC too (like Paul's desktop computer or whatever).

In XP Pro, the Administrator password is optional--that is, you can leave it blank--but I strongly recommend that you provide a good password here for security reasons. XP Home doesn't allow you enter an Administrator password, as this account is more hidden on Home installs for some reason. So you can only enter a machine name in Home Edition.

Click Next to continue.


14. Supply your date and time settings
Next, you can supply the date and time, which are auto-set based on information in your BIOS, and the time zone, which is irritatingly set to PST, which is where Microsoft is. Change these as appropriate.
Click Next to continue.



15. Network setup
If you have a networking card or modem, Setup now installs the networking components, which include the client for Microsoft networks, File and Print Sharing, the Quality of Service (QoS) Packet Scheduler, and the TCP/IP networking protocol by default.



16. Choose networking settings
In this phase, you can choose to keep the default settings (recommended) or enter custom settings. I recommend later disabling QoS, but for now, it's generally best to leave it as-is, unless you have specific needs dictated by your ISP or network.
Note that XP doesn't include the legacy NetBEUI protocol out of the box. If you want to use this protocol, you will need to install it later from the XP CD-ROM.
Click Next to continue.



Windows XP Professional only:
16b. Enter workgroup or domain information
In Windows XP Professional only, you will be able to select a workgroup or domain name next. Home Edition doesn't work with Windows domains, however, and Setup will automatically supply the workgroup name MSHOME, which you can change later. The default workgroup name in XP Pro is, imaginatively, WORKGROUP. I recommend changing this; I use the workgroup THURROTT at home, for example.
Click Next to continue.



17. Setup completion
From this point on, Setup will continue to completion without any further need for interaction, so this is a good time to grab a drink or a snack.
Setup will now copy files, complete installation, install your Start Menu items, register system components, save settings, remove any temporary files needed by Setup, and then reboot.
Again, you will probably see the "Press any key to boot from CD" message on reboot. If this happens, do not press a key, and your new XP install will boot up. You can remove the XP Setup CD now.



18. First boot
You'll be greeted by the XP splash screen on first boot (this actually appears briefly when you rebooted into GUI Setup as well).

The splash screens for XP Pro and Home are subtly different.





19. Change display settings
Users with CRT monitors and some LCDs (such as laptops and flat panel displays) will see a Display Settings dialog appear, which asks whether you'd like XP to automatically set the resolution. This will generally change the resolution from 800 x 600 to 1024 x 768 on a CRT monitor, or to the native resolution of an LCD display.
Click OK and let XP change the resolution. Then, accept the settings if the screen display changes and can be read. If you can't see the display, it will time out after 30 seconds and return to the sub-optimal 800 x 600 resolution.
Click OK to accept the screen resolution change.




20. Welcome to Microsoft Windows
Now, you are presented with XP's "Out of Box Exerience," or OOBE, which presents a silly wizard to guide you through the final set up of your PC.
Click Next to continue.



21. Network setup
In the opening OOBE phase, you are asked to set up your network/Internet connection, which is required for activation and registration. If you selected the default networking configuration during Setup and know it will work (because you're connected directly to a cable modem, perhaps, or are on a local area network), then select Yes (the default). Otherwise, you can select No and then Skip.
We'll assume that your network is up and running and select Yes.
Click Next to continue.



22. Optionally activate and register Windows
If you selected Yes in the previous step, you are asked if you'd like to activate Windows XP. This will tie your copy of XP to the current PC semi-permanently, so be sure this is what you want. Activation requires a connection to the Internet, but you can perform this step later if you want (and don't worry, XP will annoyingly remind you of this fact every time you boot the machine until you do so).
I recommend selecting No here, since you can activate later easily enough. If you do select Yes, you are asked whether you'd like to register the product. Unlike activation, registration is optional.



23. Set up users
Now, you can set up the user names of the people who will be using the PC. You will want at least one user (for you), since you shouldn't be logging on as Administrator. Curiously, each user you do create here has administrative privileges, however, and no password (!). You should set up your users correctly with passwords as soon as possible (see Post-installation tasks, below, for details).
This phase lets you create up to five users. You can create more later, or manage users, using the User Accounts tool in Control Panel.

Click Finish when done creating users. At this point, OOBE ends and you're reading to go. Click Finish again.



24. Logon to Windows XP for the first time
With OOBE out of the way, you're presented with the XP Welcome Screen for the first time. This will list all of the users you created, along with lame, randomized images you can change later (again, see below). When you click on a user name, that account will logon and you'll be presented with the XP desktop. After you create passwords, however, you'll be asked to enter a password before you can logon.



Once Windows XP is installed, it's time to perform a few post-installation tasks:

1. Immediately run Windows Update to bring sure your system is up-to-date. There are already many updates available for Windows XP on Windows Update, so you should visit this site right away (it's found in Help & Support, or you can click the icon in Start -> All Programs). You may need to reboot after certain updates, and some updates will require you to install them individually. Keep installing and rebooting until you've got them all. Windows Update includes hardware driver updates, critical system updates, security fixes, application compatibility updates, and other important updates.

2. Test your hardware devices. Once you've bled Windows Update dry, make sure all of your hardware works. Open up Device Manager (Open the Start menu, right-click My Computer, choose Properties, then go to the Hardware Tab and click Device Manager) and make sure all of your hardware was detected and has working drivers. If any do not--as evidenced by a yellow bang next to the hardware device's name, right-click and choose Update Driver. This will launch the Hardware Update Wizard. The first time around, ensure the XP CD-ROM is still in the drive, and try the option titled Install the software automatically (Recommended). If this doesn't work, visit the hardware maker's site and see if there is an updated XP-compatible driver. If this fails, open up Help and Support and navigate to the Fixing a problem link under Pick a Help Topic. There, you will find further help about solving hardware and system device problems.

Note that XP will properly function with hardware drivers designed for Windows 2000, but not those for Windows 9x/Me. If a hardware maker offers a 2000 driver, you should be able to use that, with rare exceptions. XP will warn you that such drivers are unsigned, but it's acceptable to use 2000 drivers.

3. Set up your users. For reasons best left to the imagination, Microsoft sets up each user as an Administrator equivalent with no password. This is unacceptable and foolhardy. Launch User Accounts from the Control Panel, and individually select each account and supply a password, change the picture, and, optionally, change the account type. You can select from Computer administrator and Limited account types from this tool, but XP Professional has a more advanced user configuration tool that lets you select other account types, such as Power User, User, and Replicator. In general, it's OK to leave your account as a computer administrator, but you might consider limiting other family members that might access your PC. At the very least, make sure all users have a strong password.

4. Customize the system further. At this point, you might want to configure the wallpaper, screensaver, and other features, especially if these features weren't carried over from your previous Windows version for some reason. Windows XP configuration occurs in a number of places, but some hot-spots include:

Display Properties - Right-click an empty area of the background and choose Properties.

Performance options - Right-click My Computer, choose Properties, and navigate to the Advanced tab. Click the Settings button under Performance.

Control Panel - configure hardware, networking, installed applications, and other XP features.

5. Defrag your system drive. During installation, your system drive is going to become somewhat fragmented, especially if you didn't format the system drive. To defragment this drive, open My Computer, right-click the drive (typically C and choose Properties. Navigate to the Tools tab and select Defragment Now.

6.. Install and run your software. Check to see that your software programs install and work as they did on your previous OS. If any do not, open up Help and Support and navigate to the Fixing a problem link under Pick a Help Topic. There, you will find help about solving application and software problems. Also, check the Program Compatibility Wizard in Start -> All Programs -> Accessories for tips on getting programs working under XP. I discuss application compatibility issues further in my showcase, Windows XP Hardware and Software Compatibility.

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NTFS vs. FAT

To NTFS or not to NTFS—that is the question. But unlike the deeper questions of life, this one isn't really all that hard to answer. For most users running Windows XP, NTFS is the obvious choice. It's more powerful and offers security advantages not found in the other file systems. But let's go over the differences among the files systems so we're all clear about the choice. There are essentially three different file systems available in Windows XP: FAT16, short for File Allocation Table, FAT32, and NTFS, short for NT File System.

FAT16
The FAT16 file system was introduced way back with MS–DOS in 1981, and it's showing its age. It was designed originally to handle files on a floppy drive, and has had minor modifications over the years so it can handle hard disks, and even file names longer than the original limitation of 8.3 characters, but it's still the lowest common denominator. The biggest advantage of FAT16 is that it is compatible across a wide variety of operating systems, including Windows 95/98/Me, OS/2, Linux, and some versions of UNIX. The biggest problem of FAT16 is that it has a fixed maximum number of clusters per partition, so as hard disks get bigger and bigger, the size of each cluster has to get larger. In a 2–GB partition, each cluster is 32 kilobytes, meaning that even the smallest file on the partition will take up 32 KB of space. FAT16 also doesn't support compression, encryption, or advanced security using access control lists.

FAT32
The FAT32 file system, originally introduced in Windows 95 Service Pack 2, is really just an extension of the original FAT16 file system that provides for a much larger number of clusters per partition. As such, it greatly improves the overall disk utilization when compared to a FAT16 file system. However, FAT32 shares all of the other limitations of FAT16, and adds an important additional limitation—many operating systems that can recognize FAT16 will not work with FAT32—most notably Windows NT, but also Linux and UNIX as well. Now this isn't a problem if you're running FAT32 on a Windows XP computer and sharing your drive out to other computers on your network—they don't need to know (and generally don't really care) what your underlying file system is.

The Advantages of NTFS
The NTFS file system, introduced with first version of Windows NT, is a completely different file system from FAT. It provides for greatly increased security, file–by–file compression, quotas, and even encryption. It is the default file system for new installations of Windows XP, and if you're doing an upgrade from a previous version of Windows, you'll be asked if you want to convert your existing file systems to NTFS. Don't worry. If you've already upgraded to Windows XP and didn't do the conversion then, it's not a problem. You can convert FAT16 or FAT32 volumes to NTFS at any point. Just remember that you can't easily go back to FAT or FAT32 (without reformatting the drive or partition), not that I think you'll want to.

The NTFS file system is generally not compatible with other operating systems installed on the same computer, nor is it available when you've booted a computer from a floppy disk. For this reason, many system administrators, myself included, used to recommend that users format at least a small partition at the beginning of their main hard disk as FAT. This partition provided a place to store emergency recovery tools or special drivers needed for reinstallation, and was a mechanism for digging yourself out of the hole you'd just dug into. But with the enhanced recovery abilities built into Windows XP (more on that in a future column), I don't think it's necessary or desirable to create that initial FAT partition.

When to Use FAT or FAT32
If you're running more than one operating system on a single computer (see Dual booting in Guides), you will definitely need to format some of your volumes as FAT. Any programs or data that need to be accessed by more than one operating system on that computer should be stored on a FAT16 or possibly FAT32 volume. But keep in mind that you have no security for data on a FAT16 or FAT32 volume—any one with access to the computer can read, change, or even delete any file that is stored on a FAT16 or FAT32 partition. In many cases, this is even possible over a network. So do not store sensitive files on drives or partitions formatted with FAT file systems.

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How to delete the "Recycle Bin" in the Desktop

For XP/2003
1. Open Registry Editor.
2. Navigate to this registry.

Code: ‹ Select ›

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Desktop\NameSpace

3. Delete this key

Code: ‹ Select ›

{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}

Note: As always, before making changes to your registry you should always make sure you have a valid backup. In cases where you're supposed to delete or modify keys or values from the registry it is possible to first export that key or value(s) to a .REG file before performing the changes.

4. Close Registry Editor. You don't need to restart/reboot your PC, just go to the desktop and refresh!
5. In order to restore the Recycle Bin icon to the desktop just import it back to the registry in case you've exported it earlier.

For Vista
The Recycle Bin icon is horrible and I hate it. Windows Vista has an even simpler way to hide the icon than XP does, but why couldn't they have disabled it by default?

Right-click and delete. It's as simple as that.
Enjoy!

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Definition of Malwares

Malware - Malware is programming or files that are developed for the purpose of doing harm. Thus, malware includes computer viruses, worms, Trojan horses, spyware, hijackers, and certain type of adware. This tutorial will focus on those malware that are considered viruses, trojans, worms, and viruses, though this information can be used to remove the other types of malware as well. We will not go into specific details about any one particular infection, but rather provide a broad overview of how these infections can be removed. For the most part these instructions should allow you to remove a good deal of infections, but there are some that need special steps to be removed and these won't be covered under this tutorial. Before we continue it is important to understand the generic malware terms that you will be reading about. Adware - A program that generates popups on your computer or displays advertisements. It is important to note that not all adware programs are necessarily considered malware. There are many legitimate programs that are given for free that display ads in their programs in order to generate revenue. As long as this information is provided up front then they are generally not considered malware. Backdoor - A program that allows a remote user to execute commands and tasks on your computer without your permission. These types of programs are typically used to launch attacks on other computers, distribute copyrighted software or media, or hack other computers. Dialler - A program that typically dials a premium rate number that has per minute charges over and above the typical call charge. These calls are with the intent of gaining access to pornographic material. Hijackers - A program that attempts to hijack certain Internet functions like redirecting your start page to the hijacker's own start page, redirecting search queries to a undesired search engine, or replace search results from popular search engines with their own information. Spyware - A program that monitors your activity or information on your computer and sends that information to a remote computer without your knowledge. Trojan - A program that has been designed to appear innocent but has been intentionally designed to cause some malicious activity or to provide a backdoor to your system. Virus - A program that when run, has the ability to self-replicate by infecting other programs and files on your computer. These programs can have many effects ranging from wiping your hard drive, displaying a joke in a small box, or doing nothing at all except to replicate itself. These types of infections tend to be localized to your computer and not have the ability to spread to another computer on their own. The word virus has incorrectly become a general term that encompasses trojans, worms, and viruses. Worm - A program that when run, has the ability to spread to other computers on its own using either mass-mailing techniques to email addresses found on your computer or by using the Internet to infect a remote computer using known security holes. How these infections start Just like any program, in order for the program to work, it must be started. Malware programs are no different in this respect and must be started in some fashion in order to do what they were designed to do. For the most part these infections run by creating a configuration entry in the Windows Registry in order to make these programs start when your computer starts. Unfortunately, though, in the Windows operating system there are many different ways to make a program start which can make it difficult for the average computer user to find manually. Luckily for us, though, there are programs that allow us to cut through this confusion and see the various programs that are automatically starting when windows boots. The program we recommend for this, because its free and detailed, is Autoruns from Sysinternals. When you run this program it will list all the various programs that start when your computer is booted into Windows. For the most part, the majority of these programs are safe and should be left alone unless you know what you are doing or know you do not need them to run at startup. At this point, you should download Autoruns and try it out. Just run the Autoruns.exe and look at all the programs that start automatically. Don't uncheck or delete anything at this point. Just examine the information to see an overview of the amount of programs that are starting automatically. When you feel comfortable with what you are seeing, move on to the next section.

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Secret Game sa MS Excel..

Excel 2002 (Excel 10) The word on the street is that Excel 2002 does not contain an easter egg. Apparently, Microsoft has received complaints about the waste of resources and file bloat. Microsoft Web Components Now this one is very cool! Technically, it's the easter egg for the Microsoft Web Components, but you access it from an Excel workbook saved as an interactive web page. Requires Excel 2000, the Microsoft Web components, and DirectX. Open a new Excel workbook. Select File * Save as Web Page In the Save As dialog, select 'Publish Sheet' and 'Add Interactivity' Save to an htm file on your hard drive (any file name). Open the htm file with Internet Explorer 5. Select cell WC2000 and scroll the sheet such that cell WC2000 is the first cell on the left. Highlight the entire row. Press Shift+Crtl+Alt and click the Office logo in the upper-left. Your screen will be transformed into an auto racing game, with developer credits (and other things) visible on the roadway. Use the following keys: Arrow keys: to steer and accelerate Space bar: To fire at other cars O: To drop an oil slicks H: To turn on your headlights

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Computer Acronyms and Abbreviations

ADSL - Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line
AGP - Accelerated Graphics Port
ALI - Acer Labs, Incorporated
ALU - Arithmetic Logic Unit
AMD - Advanced Micro Devices
APC - American Power Conversion
ASCII - American Standard Code for Information Interchange

ASIC - Application Specific Integrated Circuit
ASPI - Advanced SCSI Programming Interface
AT - Advanced Technology
ATI - ATI Technologies Inc.
ATX - Advanced Technology Extended

--- B ---
BFG - BFG Technologies
BIOS - Basic Input Output System
BNC - Barrel Nut Connector

--- C ---
CAS - Column Address Signal
CD - Compact Disk
CDR - Compact Disk Recorder
CDRW - Compact Disk Re-Writer
CD-ROM - Compact Disk - Read Only Memory
CFM - Cubic Feet per Minute (ft�/min)
CMOS - Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor
CPU - Central Processing Unit
CTX - CTX Technology Corporation (Commited to Excellence)

--- D ---

DDR - Double Data Rate
DDR-SDRAM - Double Data Rate - Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory
DFI - DFI Inc. (Design for Innovation)
DIMM - Dual Inline Memory Module
DRAM - Dynamic Random Access Memory
DPI - Dots Per Inch
DSL - See ASDL
DVD - Digital Versatile Disc
DVD-RAM - Digital Versatile Disk - Random Access Memory

--- E ---
ECC - Error Correction Code
ECS - Elitegroup Computer Systems
EDO - Extended Data Out
EEPROM - Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory
EPROM - Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory
EVGA - EVGA Corporation

--- F ---
FC-PGA - Flip Chip Pin Grid Array
FDC - Floppy Disk Controller
FDD - Floppy Disk Drive
FPS - Frame Per Second
FPU - Floating Point Unit
FSAA - Full Screen Anti-Aliasing
FS - For Sale
FSB - Front Side Bus

--- G ---
GB - Gigabytes
GBps - Gigabytes per second or Gigabits per second
GDI - Graphical Device Interface
GHz - GigaHertz

--- H ---
HDD - Hard Disk Drive
HIS - Hightech Information System Limited
HP - Hewlett-Packard Development Company
HSF - Heatsink-Fan

--- I ---
IBM - International Business Machines Corporation
IC - Integrated Circuit
IDE - Integrated Drive Electronics
IFS- Item for Sale
IRQ - Interrupt Request
ISA - Industry Standard Architecture
ISO - International Standards Organization

--- J ---
JBL - JBL (Jame B. Lansing) Speakers
JVC - JVC Company of America

- K ---
Kbps - Kilobits Per Second
KBps - KiloBytes per second

--- L ---
LG - LG Electronics
LAN - Local Are Network
LCD - Liquid Crystal Display
LDT - Lightning Data Transport
LED - Light Emitting Diode

--- M ---
MAC - Media Access Control
MB � MotherBoard or Megabyte
MBps - Megabytes Per Second
Mbps - Megabits Per Second or Megabits Per Second
MHz - MegaHertz
MIPS - Million Instructions Per Second
MMX - Multi-Media Extensions
MSI - Micro Star International

--- N ---
NAS - Network Attached Storage
NAT - Network Address Translation
NEC - NEC Corporation
NIC - Network Interface Card

--- O ---
OC - Overclock (Over Clock)
OCZ - OCZ Technology
OEM - Original Equipment Manufacturer

--- P ---
PC - Personal Computer
PCB - Printed Circuit Board
PCI - Peripheral Component Interconnect
PDA - Personal Digital Assistant
PCMCIA - Peripheral Component Microchannel Interconnect Architecture
PGA - Professional Graphics Array
PLD - Programmable Logic Device
PM - Private Message / Private Messaging
PnP - Plug 'n Play
PNY - PNY Technology
POST - Power On Self Test
PPPoA - Point-to-Point Protocol over ATM
PPPoE - Point-to-Point Protocol over Ethernet
PQI - PQI Corporation
PSU - Power Supply Unit

--- R ---
RAID - Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks
RAM - Random Access Memory
RAMDAC - Random Access Memory Digital Analog Convertor
RDRAM - Rambus Dynamic Random Access Memory
ROM - Read Only Memory
RPM - Revolutions Per Minute

--- S ---
SASID - Self-scanned Amorphous Silicon Integrated Display
SCA - SCSI Configured Automatically
SCSI - Small Computer System Interface
SDRAM - Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory
SECC - Single Edge Contact Connector
SODIMM - Small Outline Dual Inline Memory Module
SPARC - Scalable Processor ArChitecture
SOHO - Small Office Home Office
SRAM - Static Random Access Memory
SSE - Streaming SIMD Extensions
SVGA - Super Video Graphics Array
S/PDIF - Sony/Philips Digital Interface

--- T ---
TB - Terabytes
TBps - Terabytes per second
Tbps - Terabits per second
TDK - TDK Electronics
TEC - Thermoelectric Cooler
TPC - TipidPC
TWAIN - Technology Without An Important Name

--- U ---
UART - Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter
USB - Universal Serial Bus
UTP - Unshieled Twisted Pair

--- V ---
VCD - Video CD
VPN - Virtual Private Network

--- W ---
WAN - Wide Area Network
WTB - Want to Buy
WYSIWYG - What You See Is What You Get

--- X ---
XGA - Extended Graphics Array
XFX - XFX Graphics, a Division of Pine
XMS - Extended Memory Specification
XT - Extended Technology

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Make your IE works fast like Firefox

1. click start > run
2. type regedit > enter

3. browse folder HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\m*cro$oft\Windows\Curre ntVersion\InternetSettings
4. right click @ windows right > New > DWORD
5. type MaxConnectionsPerServer > u can set value (the more higher the no, the more good speed u get, eg : 99)
6. create another DWORD >type MaxConnectionsPer1_0Server
7. then put a high value as mentioned above
8. then, restart IE ... ur finished.

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How to Enable Right Click on Sites that Disable it-OLD TRICK

There are lots of web sites that have disabled the right click function
of the mouse button... which it's really, really annoying!!

This is done so that you don't steal (via right-click->save picture) their photos
or images or any other goodies.

Unfortunately, it disables ALL right-click functionality:
copy, paste, open in new window.

But It's easy to change, assuming your using IE 6 or higher:

Click "Tools"->"Internet Options"
Click the "Security" tab
Click "Custom Level"
Scroll down to the "Scripting" section
Set "Active Scripting" to "disable"
Click "Ok" a couple of times.

You'll probably want to turn this back to "enable" when your done,
'cause generally the java script enhances a website

or in firefox..
tools->options->content..
turn off java and javascript, then reload the site.

ALTERNATIVELY:

Before you change settings try holding down the Ctrl key and right clicking.
This also works in a lot of cases....

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How to Block or Unblock a Website?

Just Follow this step..
Open C:\Windows\system32\drivers

There you will find a file named"HOSTS"..
Right-click on it
Select open
then choose Notepad then ok.

Now,in the file under the line 127.0.0.1 localhost
Add another line as 127.0.0.2 www.friendster.com (the website that i want to block)
Then save your work..
And visit the site that you blocked!!

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138 Commands of Command Prompt ( DOS ) with description

1 ANSI.SYS -- Defines functions that change display graphics, control cursor movement, and reassign keys. 2 APPEND -- Causes MS-DOS to look in other directories when editing a file or running a command. 3 ARP -- Displays, adds, and removes arp information from network devices 4 ASSIGN -- Assign a drive letter to an alternate letter 5 ASSOC -- View the file associations 6 AT -- Schedule a time to execute commands or programs. 7 ATMADM -- Lists connections and addresses seen by Windows ATM call manager. 8 ATTRIB -- Display and change file attributes. 9 BATCH -- NRecovery console command that executes a series of commands in a file. 10 BOOTCFG -- Recovery console command that allows a user to view, modify, and rebuild the boot.ini 11 BREAK -- Enable / disable CTRL + C feature. 12 CACLS -- View and modify file ACL's. 13 CALL -- Calls a batch file from another batch file. 14 CD -- Changes directories. 15 CHCP -- Supplement the International keyboard and character set information. 16 CHDIR -- Changes directories. 17 CHKDSK -- Check the hard disk drive running FAT for errors. 18 CHKNTFS -- Check the hard disk drive running NTFS for errors. 19 CHOICE -- Specify a listing of multiple options within a batch file. 20 CLS -- Clears the screen. 21 CMD -- Opens the command interpreter. 22 COLOR -- Easily change the foreground and background color of the MS-DOS window. 23 COMP -- Compares files. 24 COMPACT -- Compresses and uncompress files. 25 CONTROL -- Open control panel icons from the MS-DOS prompt. 26 CONVERT Convert FAT to NTFS. 27 COPY -- Copy one or more files to an alternate location. 28 CTTY -- Change the computers input/output devices. 29 DATE -- View or change the systems date. 30 DEBUG -- Debug utility to create assembly programs to modify hardware settings. 31 DEFRAG -- Re-arrange the hard disk drive to help with loading programs. 32 DEL -- Deletes one or more files. 33 DELETE -- Recovery console command that deletes a file. 34 DELTREE -- Deletes one or more files and/or directories. 35 DIR -- List the contents of one or more directory. 36 DISABLE -- Recovery console command that disables Windows system services or drivers. 37 DISKCOMP -- Compare a disk with another disk. 38 DISKCOPY -- Copy the contents of one disk and place them on another disk. 39 DOSKEY -- Command to view and execute commands that have been run in the past. 40 DOSSHELL -- A GUI to help with early MS-DOS users. 41 DRIVPARM -- Enables overwrite of original device drivers. 42 ECHO -- Displays messages and enables and disables echo. 43 EDIT -- View and edit files. 44 EDLIN -- View and edit files. 45 EMM386 -- Load extended Memory Manager. 46 ENABLE -- Recovery console command to enable a disable service or driver. 47 ENDLOCAL -- Stops the localization of the environment changes enabled by the setlocal command. 48 ERASE -- Erase files from computer. 49 EXPAND -- Expand a Microsoft Windows file back to it's original format. 50 EXIT -- Exit from the command interpreter. 51 EXTRACT -- Extract files from the Microsoft Windows cabinets. 52 FASTHELP -- Displays a listing of MS-DOS commands and information about them 53 FC -- Compare files. 54 FDISK -- Utility used to create partitions on the hard disk drive. 55 FIND -- Search for text within a file. 56 FINDSTR -- Searches for a string of text within a file. 57 FIXBOOT -- Writes a new boot sector. 59 FIXMBR -- Writes a new boot record to a disk drive. 60 FOR -- Boolean used in batch files. 61 FORMAT -- Command to erase and prepare a disk drive. 62 FTP -- Command to connect and operate on a FTP server. 63 FTYPE -- Displays or modifies file types used in file extension associations. 64 GOTO -- Moves a batch file to a specific label or location. 65 GRAFTABL -- Show extended characters in graphics mode. 66 HELP -- Display a listing of commands and brief explanation. 67 IF -- Allows for batch files to perform conditional processing. 68 IFSHLP.SYS -- 32-bit file manager. 69 IPCONFIG -- Network command to view network adapter settings and assigned values. 70 KEYB -- Change layout of keyboard. 71 LABEL -- Change the label of a disk drive. 72 LH -- Load a device driver in to high memory. 73 LISTSVC -- Recovery console command that displays the services and drivers. 74 LOADFIX -- Load a program above the first 64k. 75 LOADHIGH -- Load a device driver in to high memory. 76 LOCK -- Lock the hard disk drive. 77 LOGON -- Recovery console command to list installations and enable administrator login. 78 MAP -- Displays the device name of a drive. 79 MD -- Command to create a new directory. 80 MEM -- Display memory on system. 81 MKDIR -- Command to create a new directory. 82 MODE -- Modify the port or display settings. 83 MORE -- Display one page at a time. 84 MOVE -- Move one or more files from one directory to another DIRECTORY 85 MSAV -- Early Microsoft Virus scanner. 86 MSD -- Diagnostics utility. 87 MSCDEX -- Utility used to load and provide access to the CD-ROM. 88 NBTSTAT -- Displays protocol statistics and current TCP/IP connections using NBT 89 NET -- Update, fix, or view the network or network settings 90 NETSH -- Configure dynamic and static network information from MS-DOS. 91 NETSTAT -- Display the TCP/IP network protocol statistics and information. 92 NLSFUNC -- Load country specific information. 93 NSLOOKUP -- Look up an IP address of a domain or host on a network. 94 PATH -- View and modify the computers path location 95 PATHPING -- View and locate locations of network latency 96 PAUSE -- command used in batch files to stop the processing of a command. 97 PING -- Test / send information to another network computer or network device . 98 POPD -- Changes to the directory or network path stored by the pushd command. 99 POWER -- Conserve power with computer portables. 100 PRINT -- Prints data to a printer port. 101 PROMPT -- View and change the MS-DOS prompt. 102 PUSHD -- Stores a directory or network path in memory so it can be returned to at any time. 103 QBASIC -- Open the QBasic. 104 RD -- Removes an empty directory. 105 REN -- Renames a file or directory. 106 RENAME -- Renames a file or directory. 107 RMDIR -- Removes an empty directory. 108 ROUTE -- View and configure windows network route tables. 109 RUNAS -- Enables a user to execute a program on another computer. 110 SCANDISK -- Run the scandisk utility. 111 SCANREG -- Scan registry and recover registry from errors. 112 SET -- Change one variable or string to another. 113 SETLOCAL -- Enables local environments to be changed without affecting anything else. 114 SHARE -- Installs support for file sharing and locking capabilities. 115 SETVER -- Change MS-DOS version to trick older MS-DOS programs. 116 SHIFT -- Changes the position of replaceable parameters in a batch program. 117 SHUTDOWN -- Shutdown the computer from the MS-DOS prompt. 118 SMARTDRV -- Create a disk cache in conventional memory or extended memory. 119 SORT -- Sorts the input and displays the output to the screen. 120 START -- Start a separate window in Windows from the MS-DOS prompt. 121 SUBST -- Substitute a folder on your computer for another drive letter. 122 SWITCHES -- Remove add functions from MS-DOS. 123 SYS -- Transfer system files to disk drive. 124 TELNET -- Telnet to another computer / device from the prompt. 125 TIME -- View or modify the system time. 126 TITLE -- Change the title of their MS-DOS window. 127 TRACERT -- Visually view a network packets route across a network. 128 TREE -- View a visual tree of the hard disk drive. 129 TYPE -- Display the contents of a file. 130 UNDELETE -- Undelete a file that has been deleted. 131 UNFORMAT -- Unformat a hard disk drive. 132 UNLOCK -- Unlock a disk drive. 133 VER -- Display the version information. 134 VERIFY -- Enables or disables the feature to determine if files have been written properly. 135 VOL -- Displays the volume information about the designated drive. 136 XCOPY -- Copy multiple files, directories, and/or drives from one location to another. 137 TRUENAME -- When placed before a file, will display the whole directory in which it exists 138 TASKKILL -- It allows you to kill those unneeded or locked up applications

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Common Troubleshooting Techniques & Strategies

Here are five common-sense techniques and strategies to solve common computer hardware problems.

(1) Trial-and-error

Personal computers are highly modular by design. The most powerful trouble-shooting technique is to isolate the problem to a specific component by trial-and-error. Swap compatible components and see if the system still works. Try different peripherals on different machines and see if the same problem occurs. Make one change at a time.

(2) "It's the cable, s-----."

More than 70% of all computer problems are related to cabling and connections. Ensure all cables are connected firmly. IDE and floppy ribbon cables and power cables can often go loose. Ensure microprocessor, memory modules, and adapters such as video card and sound card are inserted correctly and didn't "pop-up" during transportation.

(3) Don't be frustrated!

Don't be afraid of computer problems. It is often the best opportunity to learn. Trouble-shooting is part of the fun of owning a computer. Imagine the satisfaction you could get by solving a problem yourself.

Of course the fun could ran out quickly once you are frustrated and have spent too much time on the same problem. If you feel frustrated, it's time to leave it for a while and go back with some new ideas or call someone who can help. Rule of thumb: You shouldn't spend more than three hours on the same problem at one time.

(4) Take notes!

Take notes of what you have done and all the error messages. You may need to use them later. For instance, when you see an unusual blue screen with an error message, copy the entire message onto a piece of paper. In many situations, that message may point to the right direction in getting the problem solved quickly.

(5) Take a look?

It's OK to open a computer case and take a look inside. There is only 5V and 12V DC voltage supplied to the components outside the power supply. Those who have never seen the inside of a computer are often amazed by how simple it looks. Of course, still always power down and unplug the power cord first.

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Few steps to make your firefox run at lightining speed

These are few steps to make your firefox run at lightining speed.

1. First in the URL bar, Type “about:config”. This will bring up a list of commands and variables you can edit.

2. The second step is to put “network.http.pipelining” in the filter and change the value to “true”.

3. After that you will want to put “network.http.proxy.pipelining” in the filter.
Like the last one, make that value set to “true” also.

4. Next, locate “network.http.pipelining.maxrequests” and change the value to some number higher, say 10,20 or even 30, it would make up to 10,20 or 30 requests at once.

5. The last step is to right click anywhere and select “New” then “Integer”. Name it “nglayout.initialpaint.delay” and make its value “0″. This will make the browser respond faster on the information of the websites it receives.

6. Close out FireFox (make sure FireFox is closed by viewing the Task Manager) and restart it and enjoy the new mega spee.

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