Like installing free software that is suspicious, backing up data…

Install unwanted Free Softwares and Offers that are suspicious:

Some pre-installed applications are bad and some you may have no use and others may even turn out to be sub-standard and slow down your computer. Checking your PC for each item you didn’t ask for will probably take you a while. For this, PC Decrapifier application helps you identify unwanted junk. Once you can run the wizard it shows you a checklist with recommendations and tick the programs, icons and start-up items that don’t want and then click the Next button as shown in the screenshot below.

Everyone loves free things. Free software is often ad-supported and in many cases the installer comes bundled with additional products or ad-ware, which can slow down your computer. So, anytime you download a free Windows application, you must do a custom install. And several other kinds of software that are alternatively offered or forced when installing free software and these can include several different types of software.

And another type of unwanted software are browsers, it could be easily modified and include unwanted piece of functionality that does something you don’t want, like monitor your activity or steal personal information. If you want a new browser, it is much safer to go directly to the source, and if you decided you preferred Firefox or Chrome to Internet Explorer to accept what comes bundled with other software.

Also, several varieties of trial software are also often offered. And these include games which may require an additional purchase to continue playing, or offers of security solutions. This latter option can be particularly risky to install, especially if you already have other security in place. Having two security solutions in place, with the same kind of functionality being offered, can lead to conflicts and computer crashes. Just like with browsers, it is better to make an informed choice and download and install security solutions from their official webpage, instead of using what comes bundled with other software.

Then finally, some software may ask or require you to sign your email up for spam, change your homepage to their website, or even buy into other promotions in order to enjoy the product for free.

Backing up data:

There are many reasons for data loss and some of the most common are: accidental deletion, hard disk damage or failure, viruses, power disruption and improper shutdown.

Also, please avoid the following common mistakes for backing up data.

o Save your work
o Close applications
o Configure new file types
o Update backup sets
o Rescue disk
o Database exports
o Check backup media
o Check log files
o Verify recent backup data
o Store backup media offsite during absence
o Critical data should be backed up 2 ways
o Run Error Check on the C: drive

Too Much Disk Defragmentation

Most people don’t need to defragment their hard disk manually. And you should only defragment your hard drive if it is 5-10% fragmented.

Not Restarting the Computer

Rebooting is considered a cure-all of sorts that fixes a ton of problems. So try to reboot and see if that solves the problem.

Viruses, Trojans, and Adware

Another one of those problems that can be a risk with any new software download. Having solid anti-virus software on your computer is a must for this.

Introduction:

There are two file transfer commands that are used with Sysax FTP Scripting.

o  ftpdownload

o  ftpupload

The ftpdownload command can be used to download either an individual file or an entire folder tree. The files and folders are downloaded to the current local working path. The ftpupload command can be used to upload either an individual file or an entire folder tree. The files and folders are uploaded to the current remote working path.

Obtaining folder listings:

The contents of a folder can be listed and stored into a user specified list name. Each item in the list can then be individually accessed. The ftpgetlist command can be used to obtain a listing of the current working path. The predefined keywords local or remote are used to specify either the local or remote system. The recurse level determines the number of levels of subfolders that need to be listed. If no recurse level is specified, it is set to 1 by default and lists only the top level files and folders in the current working path.

Syntax for obtaining folder listings

ftpgetlist <keywords: local, remote>, <list name>, <recurse level>;

Example of using the command for setting paths

ftpgetlist local, @local_list; #get the listing of the 
current local working path

ftpgetlist remote, @remote_list; #get the listing of the 
current remote working path

ftpgetlist remote, @remote_list, 0; #get recursive listing of the 
current remote working path

ftpgetlist remote, @remote_list, 3; #get up to 3 levels of 
listings of the current remote working path

Transferring files and folders:

Download:

For this command, the predefined keywords file and folder are used to specify either a file or a folder. An optional local name string can be provided to save the downloaded item to a new name.

Syntax for downloading files and folders

ftpdownload <keywords: file, folder>, <remote name string>
 [, optional: <local name string>];

Examples of downloading files and folders

ftpdownload file, "text.dat"; #download file

ftpdownload file, "*.doc"; #download all files in the current 
folder matching the pattern *.doc

ftpdownload file, "text.dat", "text_0503.dat"; 
#download file and save as text_0503.dat

ftpdownload folder, "www"; #download entire folder tree

Upload:

For this command, the predefined keywords file and folder are used to specify either a file or a folder. An optional remote name string can be provided to save the uploaded item to a new name.

Syntax for uploading files and folders

ftpupload <keywords: file, folder>, <local name string>
 [, optional: <remote name string>];

Examples of uploading files and folders

ftpupload file, " out_text.dat"; #upload file

ftpupload file, "*.doc"; #upload all files in the current
 folder matching the pattern *.doc

ftpupload file, " out_text.dat", "out_text_0503.dat";
 #upload file and saving it as out_text_0503.dat

ftpupload folder, "www"; #upload entire folder tree

Modification time for remote file:

The ftpmodtime command can be used to get the modification time for the remote file in YYYYMMDDHHmmss format.

Syntax for modification time of a remote file

ftpmodtime <user variable>, <filename>;

Examples of modification time of a remote file

ftpmodtime ~remotefiletime, "remotefile.txt"; #get the modification 
time for remote file remotefile.txt

What is this, how does it show:

Your user profile is a collection of settings that make the computer look and work the way you want it to. It contains your settings for desktop backgrounds, screen savers, pointer preferences, sound settings, and other features. User profiles ensure that your personal preferences are used whenever you log on to Windows. If you tried to log on to Windows and received an error message telling you that your user profile might be corrupted, you can try to repair it. You will need to create a new profile, and then copy the files from the existing profile to the new one.

In Windows 7, it is very common that we come across corrupt user profiles. There are many solutions and tricks for us to fix it. Here we offer 2 ways to fix corrupt user profile. We will see the error message “The user profile cannot be loaded” or “The User Profile Service failed the logon” if we type the password and press Enter.

Fix the corrupt profile:

One of the reasons that cause corrupt profile is that antivirus software is scanning your PC while you try to log on. But there are still some other reasons. No matter for what reasons, we can fix it. First restart your PC and boot into safe mode. Do this by pressing F8 before you see the Windows loading screen and choosing Safe Mode from the menu that appears. Safe Mode logs you into the built-in Windows administrator account, but you might find that some options don’t work.

Step 1: Click Start and type regedit into the search box and press Enter.

Step 2: Registry Editor will launch and you need to navigate to the following key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList

Step 3: Try to find out which user account it relates to by clicking each S-1-5 folder and double-click the ProfileImagePath entry.

Step 4:  If you have located the folder for the corrupt profile, double-click RefCount and change the Value data to 0 and click Ok.

Step 5: Double-click on State, then make sure the Value data is again 0 and click Ok.

How it can be managed:

Create a new user profile:

You are able to create a new user account if you have another account which can access to this PC. Otherwise you need to boot into safe mode as the Trick 1. Then try to do as the following steps. In additional, you have to enable the hidden admin account if neither of them works. Then type cmd in the search box and right-click on Command Prompt. Choose Run as administrator.

Type “net user administrator /active:yes” at the prompt. You can see the response show that: The command completed successfully. Reboot to your PC and see your corrupt account and administrator account. Login the admin account (which has no password) and do as the following:

Step 1: Open Control Panel and click User Accounts and Family Safety

Step 2: Click on User Accounts. Then click Manage another account and type in the password

Step 3: Click create a new account and type the name.

Step 4: Restart your PC.

Copy User Files to the New Profile:

Step 5: It is better for you to log in as Administrator or if you need to transfer files properly. So enable one of them if you haven’t already done so.

Step 6: By clicking Start, Computer and then double-clicking on the hard drive on which Windows is installed, you can navigate to the corrupt user account. Usually c: – and then double-click on the Users folder. Find the folder containing your old user account and double-click it, then double-click My Documents.

Step 7:  It’s best to copy across the contents of sub-folders separately, and this gives you a chance to have a clear out as well. If you do want to copy the entire contents in one go, enable hidden files and folders and then make sure you DON’T copy across the following files:

            Ntuser.dat

            Ntuser.dat.log

            Ntuser.ini

You can click the Tools menu (press Alt if you can’t see it), to make these files visible. Then click the View tab and click Show hidden files, folders and drives. Be sure that any email stored locally may need to be copied separately using instructions specific to your email program. So please don’t delete the corrupt user profile until you are sure you have all the files you need from it.

Step 8: When all the files are copied across to the newly created user profile, restart your computer and log onto the new profile.

If you found this article helpful, please share it with your friends and family. Who knows, maybe they are facing this problem and need help to solve.

What is AES?

The Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) is an encryption algorithm for securing sensitive but unclassified material by U.S. Government agencies and, as a likely consequence, may eventually become the de facto encryption standard for commercial transactions in the private sector. In January of 1997, a process was initiated by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), a unit of the U.S. Commerce Department, to find a more robust replacement for the Data Encryption Standard (DES) and to a lesser degree Triple DES.  The algorithm was required to be royalty-free for use worldwide and offer security of a sufficient level to protect data for the next 20 to 30 years. The specification called for a symmetric algorithm (same key for encryption and decryption) using block encryption 128 bits in size, supporting key sizes of 128, 192 and 256 bits, as a minimum.

What is RSA?

RSA (Rivest-Shamir-Adleman) is an Internet encryption and authentication system that uses an algorithm developed in 1977 by Ron Rivest, Adi Shamir, and Leonard Adleman. The RSA algorithm is the most commonly used encryption and authentication algorithm and is included as part of the Web browsers from Microsoft and Netscape. It’s also part of Lotus Notes, Intuit’s Quicken, and many other products. The encryption system is owned by RSA Security. The company licenses the algorithm technologies and also sells development kits. The technologies are part of existing or proposed Web, Internet, and computing standards. Both the public and the private keys are needed for encryption / decryption but only the owner of a private key ever needs to know it. Using the RSA system, the private key never needs to be sent across the Internet.

Comparison between AES and RSA:

Comparing the two directly is a little like comparing a tractor to a train – they’re both vehicles but have completely different function and construction. In the table below a comparative study between AES and RSA is presented in to eighteen factors, which are Key Size, Block Size, Ciphering & Deciphering key, Scalability, Algorithm, Encryption, Decryption, Power Consumption, Security, Deposit of keys, Inherent Vulnerabilities, Key used, Rounds, Stimulation Speed, Trojan Horse, Hardware & Software Implementation and Ciphering & Deciphering Algorithm.

Microsoft Office

When it comes to office automation, the first thing that comes to mind is Microsoft Office. One cannot imagine a Windows-based computer without a local copy of Word, Excel and PowerPoint. The history of MS Office starts officially on November 19, 1990 when Office for Windows (also called MS Office 1.0) came out for use with Windows 2.0. Prior to Office 1.0, the basic elements of the package were still available as separate programs but for MS-DOS. The primary input devices for pre Windows Microsoft Word were keyboards. Though they have many good features, formatting and printing requires good expertise.

Here’s our list of top 10 features that the new Office has to offer.

o Touch everywhere
o Inking
o Apps
o Skydive
o New subscription services
o Stay connected
o Skype
o Reading, markup
o Digital note-taking
o Meetings

Google Docs

Google Docs is a freeware web-based office suite offered by Google within its Google Drive service. It also was a storage service but it has been replaced by Drive. It allows users to create and edit documents online while collaborating with other users live. It combines the features of Writely and Spreadsheets with a presentation program incorporating technology designed by Tonic Systems.

–  Storage

With the launch of Google Docs, 1 GB of storage was included for free.

–  File limits

Individual documents may not exceed 1 GB as of 13 January 2010, embedded images must not exceed 2 MB each, and spreadsheets are limited to 256 columns, 400,000 cells, and 200 sheets.

–  Supported file formats

Users can upload files of any format. Google Docs supports 15 file formats for viewing. [.DOC and .DOCX,.DOC and .DOCX, .PPT and .PPTX, .PDF, .PAGES, .AI, .PSD, .TIFF, .DXF, .SVG, .EPS & .PS, .TTF & .OTF, .XPS, .ZIP and .RAR, WebM & .MPEG4 & .3GPP & .MOV & .AVI & .MPEGPS & .WMV & .FLV & .ogg].

Comparison:

Google Docs is a good alternative to Microsoft Office.  Here are the advantages and disadvantages of each.

Microsoft Office

Advantages

o Each program in the suite is very powerful, and contains advanced features for formatting and data management.
o MS-Office is a standard set of applications used by many organizations.
o File size is only limited by the amount of drive storage space available on the individual user’s computer.

Disadvantages

o MS-Office is licensed per machine, and may not be available on home computers.
o Compatibility issues may arise between MS-Office versions.
o Files can be stored in different locations, but there can be multiple copies of the same file leading to questions as to which version is current.
o Files can be opened by only one person at a time, restricting collaboration.

Google Docs

Advantages

o Cloud-based, meaning that the applications and documents are available on any device with an internet connection, including smart phones.
o Can read and write MS-Office files.
o Multiple users can access a document at once, allowing for sophisticated collaboration.
o Documents can be published and viewed online into other web pages.
o All document changes are saved, and all previous versions are accessible.
o Users can create advanced forms and surveys.

Disadvantages

o Must have Internet access to use – not currently available offline.
o Does not have some of the advanced functions of MS-Office, including Mail Merge, advanced printing, etc.
o Formatting is not as easy as in MS-Office.
o Does not have a direct print function. Documents must be downloaded as a PDF then printed locally.
o Does not have a database such as MS-Access.
o File size is restricted to 2 MB, with a limit of 25 GB combined with Gmail.

GIF file:

GIF images are truly the internet standard for any type of small, simple file. GIF stands for Graphics Interchange Format. The most common use for a GIF is for menu buttons or icons for a webpage. The reason being that gif are extremely tiny in file size and have no complex colors, so they load almost instantly on any webpage. Also, any other file which is made up of only use a few basic, flat colors will want to use GIF compression.

PNG file:

PNG (Portable Network Graphics) (1996) is a bitmap image format that employs lossless data compression. PNG was created to both improve upon and replace the GIF format with an image file format that does not require a patent license to use. PNG supports palette based grayscale and RGB images.

JPG or JPEG file:

JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) files are a lossy format; the DOS filename extension is JPG (other OS might use JPEG). Nearly every digital camera can save images in the JPEG format, which supports 8 bits per for a 24-bit total, producing relatively small files. When not too great, the compression does not noticeably detract from the image’s quality, but JPEG files suffer generational degradation when repeatedly edited and saved.

TIFF file:

TIFF (Tagged Image File Format) file format has not been updated since 1992 and is now owned by Adobe. It can store an image and data in the one file. TIFF can be compressed, but it is rather its ability to store image data in a lossless format that makes a TIFF file a useful image archive, because unlike standard JPEG files, a TIFF file using lossless compression may be edited and re-saved without losing image quality.

BMP file:

BMP (Bitmap) was probably the first type of digital image format that I can remember. Every picture on a computer seemed those days to be a BMP. In Windows XP the Paint program saves its images automatically in BMP. However, in Windows Vista and later images are now saved to JPEG.

What is hard disk?

When you save data or install programs on your computer, the information is typically written to your hard disk. The hard disk is a spindle of magnetic disks, called platters, that record and store information. Because the data is stored magnetically, information recorded to the hard disk remains intact after you turn your computer off. This is an important distinction between the hard disk and RAM, or memory, which is reset when the computer’s power is turned off.

The hard disk is housed inside the hard drive, which reads and writes data to the disk. The hard drive also transmits data back and forth between the CPU and the disk. When you save data on your hard disk, the hard drive has to write thousands, if not millions, of ones and zeros to the hard disk. It is an amazing process to think about, but may also be a good incentive to keep a backup of your data.

WinSXS folder:

The WinSXS folder at C:\Windows\WinSXS is massive and continues to grow the longer you have Windows installed. This folder builds up unnecessary files over time, such as old versions of system components. This folder also contains files for uninstalled, disabled Windows components. Even if you don’t have a Windows component installed, it will be present in your WinSXS folder, taking up space.

How to use WinSXS folder to free up space:

The WinSXS folder contains all Windows system components. In fact, component files elsewhere in Windows are just links to files contained in the WinSXS folder. The WinSXS folder contains every operating system file.

When Windows installs updates, it drops the new Windows component in the WinSXS folder and keeps the old component in the WinSXS folder. This means that every Windows Update you install increases the size of your WinSXS folder. This allows you to uninstall operating system updates from the Control Panel, which can be useful in the case of a buggy update — but it’s a feature that’s rarely used.

Clean Up Update Files:

To clean up such update files, open the Disk Cleanup wizard (tap the Windows key, type “disk cleanup” into the Start menu, and press Enter). Click the Clean up System Files button, enable the Windows Update Cleanup option and click OK. If you’ve been using your Windows 7 system for a few years, you’ll likely be able to free several gigabytes of space.

The next time you reboot after doing this, Windows will take a few minutes to clean up system files before you can log in and use your desktop. If you don’t see this feature in the Disk Cleanup window, you’re likely behind on your updates — install the latest updates from Windows Update.

Windows 8 and 8.1 include built-in features that do this automatically. In fact, there’s a StartComponentCleanup scheduled task included with Windows that will automatically run in the background, cleaning up components 30 days after you’ve installed them. This 30-day period gives you time to uninstall an update if it causes problems.

What is cmd.exe?

Command Prompt (executable name cmd.exe) is the Microsoft-supplied command-line interpreter on OS/2, Windows CE and on Windows NT-based operating systems (including Windows 2000, XP, Vista, 7, 8, Server 2003, Server 2008, Server 2008 R2 and Server 2012). It is the analog of COMMAND.COM in MS-DOS and Windows 9x systems (where it is called “MS-DOS Prompt”), or of the Unix shells used on Unix-like systems.

Command Prompt can be accessed via the Command Prompt shortcut located in the Start Menu or on the Apps screen, depending on what version of Windows you have. To use Command Prompt, you must enter a valid command along with any optional parameters. Command Prompt then executes the command as entered and performs whatever task or function it’s designed to perform in Windows.

How to run it on Windows Vista and 7?

To run an elevated command prompt under Windows Vista and Windows 7 operating systems (see sample screenshot below):

o Click Start
o In the search box type in command
o Right-click ‘Command Prompt’ in the search results list
o Click ‘Run as administrator’ from the popup menu
o If you are not an administrator of the computer a dialog box will be shown prompting for the administrator password

Why do I have to run it?

Command Prompt is used to execute entered commands. It is most commonly used to execute batch files, perform advanced administrative functions, and troubleshoot and solve certain kinds of Windows issues.

Command prompt has many other functions than managing your directories (directories are simply all of your folders on your system), it also launches programs, enters commands to manage different components on your system such as your hard drive maintains (deleting and creating partions, etc.), runs scripts, from the simplest to the most complex, even hooks into other systems if your computer is properly configured for this, and it usually takes a Server to do so. It is very powerful and complex, so be very careful.

Basic description:

Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) is an error reporting and diagnostic utility and is considered a required part of any IP implementation. Understanding ICMP and knowing what can possibly generate a specific type of ICMP is useful in diagnosing network problems.

ICMP Features:

o  ICMP: Used by IP to send error and control messages.
o  ICMP uses IP to send its messages.
o  ICMP does not report errors on ICMP messages.
o  ICMP message are not required on datagram checksum errors.
o  ICMP reports error only on the first fragment.

ICMP Message Format:

Each ICMP message contains three fields that define its purpose and provide a checksum. The TYPES defined are:

Destination Unreachable:

When a packet is undeliverable, a Destination Unreachable ICMP is generated and it can have a Code value of 0 to 15:

Source Quench:

An ICMP Source Quench message has a Type field of 4 and Code 0. Source Quench messages are sent when the destination is unable to process traffic as fast as the source is sending it. The Source Quench ICMP tells the source to cut back the rate at which it is sending data. The destination will continue to generate Source Quench ICMPs until the source is sending at an acceptable speed.

Redirect Message:

An intermediary device will generate an ICMP Redirect Message when it determines that a route being requested can be reached either locally or through a better path. The further defined by the following Code field values:

Time Exceeded:

If a router or host discards a packet due to a time-out, it will generate a Time Exceeded Type 11 ICMP. The Time Exceeded ICMP will have a Code value of either 0 or 1. A Code 0 is generated when the hop count of a datagram is exceeded and the packet is discarded. A Code 1 is generated when the reassemble of a fragmented packet exceeds the time-out value.

Parameter Problem:

When an intermediary device or host discards a datagram due to inability to process, an ICMP 12 is generated. Common causes of this ICMP are corrupt header information or missing options. If the reason for the ICMP is a required missing option, the ICMP will have a Code value of 1.

Echo Request & Echo Reply:

This is the ICMP most used to test IP connectivity commonly known as PING. The Echo Request ICMP will have a Type field of 8 and a Code field of 0. Echo Replies have a Type field of 0 and a Code field of 0.

DLL Errors:

DLL stands for Dynamic Link Library. A DLL error is the most common Windows error. There are several tips for fixing DLL errors.

1. Reboot Your PC Properly:

If your system has hung or crashed then this may not be an option for you. While it may only be a quick fix and not the most ideal solution, attempting to reopen applications in a different order may prevent the DLL problem from occurring again.

2. Restart the Program Properly:

Close down all open applications after saving your existing work. Attempt to open the applications again and doing the same things you were doing when the problem started. This provides your system and the software with the opportunity to open properly and can genuinely improve your chances of a trouble free session.

3. Try System Restore:

DLL file error will make it impossible for your computer to start. If that’s the case, simply start your computer in safe mode then you can run the system restore.

4. Uninstall/Reinstall the Program Causing Your DLL Problem:

Reinstalling will remove some of the files or DLLs that have become corrupt or problematic in any way and replace them with genuine, clean versions. This may not be the case for those DLLs that are stored as part of the Windows operating system.

5. Update the Program Causing Your DLL Problem:

Most applications include an automatic updater, but whether you choose to use this automated system or manually install updates as and when they become available, ensure that you do download the latest patches and updates. These may contain newer and more efficient versions of DLLs that you need.

6. Update Your Hardware Drivers:

DLLs are sometimes used in conjunction with hardware and peripherals, this simple technique may prevent a lot of headache.

7. Reinstall the Missing/Damaged DLL File:

DLL download sites should always be avoided, even though they sometimes provide a quick fix. There are perfectly safe and acceptable ways of fixing DLL problems without resorting to downloading individual DLL files from these sites.

8. Reinstall the Windows Operating System:

It is necessary to make sure that during the Windows reinstallation process, program settings are neither lost nor damaged in any manner. After the reinstallation is done, you can reinstall the program(s) that was not working previously and was causing the DLL error.

9. Keep Windows Updated:

When you install the Windows operating system, you will be informed of any new updates or patches. You will also be given the opportunity to install them onto your computer. Windows updates include vital patches, as well as security installations that are required to plug any holes left by earlier version of the operating system.

10. Use Your System File Checker (SFC) :

SFC feature that can be used for repairing the damage that a corrupted file has caused. There are two methods in which this feature can be used for tackling the DLL error trouble.