How to remove worm/autorun.blw virus?

First of all, update your antivirus

If say, the drive d has the virus, open notepad, goto open and type d:\autorun.inf

If there is a text block displayed then your system has an autorun virus, removing which is simple.

Open notepad,Create a blank file as autorun.inf. just drag and drop this file into the drive d, after opening my computer. DO NOT COPY AND PASTE!!

As the trojan depends on autorun.inf to do its job, a blank autorun.inf will disable it!

Why dont HCL and HP give you backups of your device drivers?

I have had many friends asking me to search for them, device drivers for their newly purchased desktops/laptops. What I dont understand is the fact that HP and HCL (2 of the major computer assemblers in the US) dont provide device driver CD's / DVD's with the computers that they sell. I understand that these PC's have genuine windows versions installed on them, but why not provide drivers?

Some of my friends wanted me to bring this up on my blog, cause this might serve as an early warning system to all of you people considering to buy a previously assembled PC.

One of my friends ran into a certain trojan problem on his HCL PC, and wanted me to re install his windows (since Im the guy in the know-how). I tried formatting the disk, and re-installing windows on it, but guess what! It simply refused to install on his PC. Thats when I threw in the towel and told him to call up the HCL guys, and ask them for help. Three frustrating hours of troubleshooting later, they decided to send one of their own to look into the problem. And guess what he does, after he gets there! He takes out a windows XP CD out of his backpack, and it installs like nothings been wrong with the PC! I was surprised to find out that even the drivers come bundled with his version of windows XP so he doesnt have to install it seperately.

Asked if we could have a copy of his disc in case there was a future failure, we were told his boss would have his head if he found out, but the nice guy agreed anyway! I got into all the technical details of the CD copy, and found out that HCL has a special windows disc, licensed exclusively to them (of course!!!) by Microsoft.

Now, what this disc did was, it read the hardware device configurations from the ROM, and only upon finding that this was a genuine HCL PC, and not a lookalike, did it start installing windows.

No wonder the HCL, HP guys wouldnt give you the discs!

Trojan in DotaKeys !

If you are an avid fan of DotA AllStars, you'd probably know that farming is one of the most important parts of the game, other than pwning other heroes' heads. But farming is difficult for newbies. I hit upon this software called "DotaKeys" made by a guy who called himself "Fucko". I didnt have any problem with this guy, until I updated his software. The software downloads a backdoor trojan which might compromise your computers' security to this guys whims. I googled the problem and I came upon this post. Here, this "Fucko" dude goes about bashing anyone who tells him hes given them a program with a trojan. 

He argues its open source, and even provides a link for its source. SURE its open source, who denied it!! All Im saying is that the program itself doesnt contain malicious trojans. These appear once you update the program.

And just for all of you people who are thinking how he made this program, there is a software called Autohotkey. A pretty nifty program that has its own language, a compiler, and what not, all under 2 MB !

Im working on an alternative to this program, and am going to release it maybe by this months' end. Thanks as always for a patient read

Blogger is behaving strangely these days!

Yeah, I just wanted to add some more content to my other blog, and I clicked on the add html/javascript link in my blogger accounts' "Add new page content". Blogger came up with a "ERROR 404 Page cannot be found". The main cause of this problem is that blogger uses redirection to take you to different pages. 404 occurs on web pages that do not exist on servers. Yet, if you try after a minute or two, it will show up with the content. How can a page, non existant 2 minutes ago appear all of a sudden? Thats because, the server to which it redirected is probably under heavy load, because of bloggers like you and me, clicking the same link. There is no other solution other than waiting for sometime and clicking the link again.

Please correct the errors on this form.  
   

Your request could not be processed. Please try again.

This is another one of those errors that I keep getting these days. If you're getting this error too,I recommend you do the following :

> Turn off any download accelerators and stop ALL downloads

>Do not load other sites when saving

Google runs on AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) and so does Blogger. It doesnt need to refresh the whole page. Doing so would take up bandwidh, and is reliable, but AJAX involves making a "non-interrupting" call to the server. Thus, only a single fragment of a message needs to be sent to the server. If the call to the server times out, the message will not reach it, and thus the message. That was why I recommended having enough bandwidth availableto let that "small fragment of a message" through.

SKYPE ON A SPEAKERPHONE

Polycom makes some of the best speakerphones. So a compact VoIP product from the company piques my interest. The polycom communicator is not just for hands-free skype conversations but also great for small conference rooms.

All you need is a notebook, a broadband connection and Skype. The device is plug-and-play, but you dont need Skype to use it;I used it with Google talk and it worked seamlessly without any extra software. You need the polycom software though.If you want to use the soft-buttons on the device.This device is equipped with two micro-phones that are strategically placed on the two bottom corners which catch sounds from the remotest corners of a small room. I tested the product from a distance of up to 3m(11 feet) and experienced no voice quality problems. The sound was free of any distortions. The speaker which paced in the center, produces a significant volume of sound-enough for a few people to hear the other party clearly. Since this is a USB-powered device, you dont need a seperate power adapter.

The device has four buttons that are used to connect to Skype, start a call, control volme, or mute a call. There is a headphone jack too, if you want to hold a more private conversation. Flip the device over, and it reveals an extremely smart cable management system. The lid on the storage bay acts as a stand once opened. This allows you to easily pack and carry the communicator.

This product is extremely capable, works well and is ideal for VoIP users but for a hefty price tag.

Price:Rs 7,740
 roughly 190 dollars.

Stupid reasons why JAVA beats .NET :

The answer is a BIG "yes" if you ask me! Though some might argue that these
so called frameworkswere built for different purposes, there are a few
applications that can be built with both. For example web applications.
JAVA has the J2EE libraries and .net has, well ASP.net . Java counters with
JSP if I forgot to mention.

So, why do I like JAVA more than .net?

Reason #1: JAVA suppports an open source mindset, .NET does NOT

Reason #2: With all the inherant complications, JAVA seems like a tough nut
to crack. Ever heard the saying, girls dig complicated guys?? Something like that

Reason #3: .NET just makes things even more complicated by providing an IDE with
drag and drop, and at the same time introducing complex concepts such as assembly,
GAC's and what not. Im thinking of removing .net from my resume', you know why?
Ive never heard a saying which goes "Girls dig overly complex, nerds".

Reason #4: JAVA always gave me options, for example, if I wanted to develop a web
application, I can do it with a JSP page, or an HTML page with a servlet back end.
Yeah, .NET does it too, with its ASP.net, but I never got to use the full functionality
of the libraries, simply because, there are complex types which profess to do stuff, but dont,
or there are variables where there should have been none. If you're an avid .NET programmer you'll know.

Reason #5: JAVA was made by SUN microsystems, whose SOLARIS isnt that much of a money grabber.
And, .net you know, was made by Microsoft...Oh, I always hated Microsoft! Corporate dominance
makes me sick to my stomach!

If you were expecting a complete technology comparison like I do everytime, sorry to disappoint you,
wasnt in the mood today!!

OPTIMIZE YOUR NOTEBOOK

Network garbage is like desktop garbage, only worse: All that excess activity saps your systems' resources. Anything that unnecessarily drains your laptop battery deserves to get dumped. Aa quick
tune upcan make any notebook more energy efficient.

A POWER MAKEOVER

Choose the right pwer scheme for your work stule. Click Start->Control Panel-> Performance and maintainence->Power options. Under this, pick Max Battery and click OK.
This setting shuts off your monitor after 1 min and puts your notebook in standby if you dont use it for 2 mins. If thats too soon, repeat the steps and choose the portable/laptop power scheme which goes into standby after 5 mins.

Another way to reduce your notebook's power consumption is by dimming the screen. Unfortunately, every notebook manufacturer seems to have a different technique for dimming, so you may have to go digging in your owners manual.

A notebook's built-in wireless card sucks up power as it looks for access points, so disable yours when you're not working on a network. Other laptop power grabbers that you should unplug when you don need them are USB devices and PC cards.

CLEAN OUT THE BACKGROUND

Give autostart programs the heave-ho when you're running on battery power. In addition to following this step, right click icons in your system tray and shut down programs you dont need. They'll start up again the next time window loads.

STANDBY OR HIBERNATE?

Win XP's standbymode stops your HDD and monitor, but everything in your systems memory stays there, using a little trickle of power. Hibernation mode writes everything in memory to the hard drive and shuts down the machine completely.
Windows spriings back quickly from standby mode, but it takes much longer to come back to a working state. If you will be gone for a short while, it makes sense to leave your system on standby, else, leave your system in hibernation.

AUTOMATIC UPDATES

Have you updated your computer's anti virus software today?Have you configured your desktop to automatically download and install its security updates?

Presumably, your answer is yes. But there is a problem with many updating systems, as a recent paper by three researchers at the university of Massachusetts makes alarmingly clear.

Many update systems, it seems, are themselves riddled with security vulnerabilities. In the paper, professor Kevin Fu shows that update systems in popular software packages like McAfee VirusScan and Mozilla Firefox can actually be used to take over a computer thats trying to update itself!

The so-called secure update problem is twofold, say the researchers. First and foremost, programs need to have some way of authenticating some their updates to establish their legitimacy. But it is also critically important that programs have an authenticated connection to the update server.

THE CODE'S SOURCE

An authenticated update means that there is some way for the software doing the update to assure itself that the update is an authentic version from the intended source. Without authentication, a clever attacker can arrange for the program doing the update to download and run the exploit instead.

In practice, updates should be authenticated with a digital signature-they should be signed with a private key. The matching public key should be embedded inside the application doing the update. Before the update is run, the application should verify the digital signature. If the nature doesn't verify, the update should be deleted.

The UMass researchers discovered that many programs don't authenticate their updates. This may not be so surprising-lots of software has security vulnerabilities, after all. But what is surprising is that among products that didn't have digitally signed updates were McAfee VirusScan and McAfee Virex, to antivirus, malware programs.

Exploiting the flaw is actually a lot easier than you might think. Most of these unsecured update systems simply goto a web or FTP server, check the time stamp of the most recent file and download the file if it's new enough.

The address of the server is usually hard-coded into the program doing the update, although occasionally it is stored in a configuration file.

To exploit flaw, all the attacker needs to do is send the program doing the update to a server thats run by the attacker. One way to send the program to the wrong site is by using a DNS-based attack.

Though signing updates with a digital signature doesn't prevent hostile code from being downloaded, but it does prevent the code from being run. Unfortunately, this is only half the battle. Even if updates are signed, an attacker capable of intercepting DNS requests or diverting internet traffic can still use an update service to take over an unsuspecting victims computer.

Another way that an attacker can subvert the update process is to run an update server that always responds "No updates today!" clients will then connect, find no update, and disconnect, and never will they know that they have been deceived. A well placed attacker could prevent an entire organization from installing updates for a period of time, then attack all vulnerable machines

Warcraft III screen garbled? Resolution problem?

Is your warcraft III game screen garbled, or reverts to some unknown resolution each time the game starts? Cant see anything on the screen except colored lines?...I have the solution!

I experienced the same problem a while ago, and was jubiliant when I discovered the solution. The method, in 10 steps is as follows :

1. Goto Start -> Run

2. Type "regedit" without quotes. This is to open the registry editor.

3. you would be presented with a screen with 2 panes. The left most pane will have items such as HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT,etc

4. Expand "HKEY_CURRENT_USER", then expand SOFTWARE

5. You should see a key called "Blizzard Entertainment", expand that too

6. Now expand Warcraft III then expand Video

7. We'r almost there!! You should see a series of blue colored keys on the right pane.

8. Double click on reswidth. *Click Decimal* THIS IS IMPORTANT! Then,type in 800

9. Double click on resheight. *Click Decimal* THIS IS IMPORTANT! Then,type in 600

10. We are done now! Go ahead and start the game, the resolution should be fine now. I have demonstrated with 800x600 resolution. You can try it for any resolution you want I have also tried it with 1024x768 and it works!! Just replace 800 by 1024 and 600 by 768. That should do it!

The call of convergence

Not long ago, things were fairly simple. To get a landline phone, you went to one service provider, and for a mobile phone, to another.Cable TV services were run by your neighborhood operator,and the phone service provider was your ISP. Choice was limited-if it existed at all-and there was little recourse if you were unhappy with the quality of service or the tariffs.You either put up or shut up.

Over the last few quarters, there has been a big, but largely unnoticed shift in the communications landscape. We are seeing wider availability of services from one operator, and pilot runs of new technologies.Powering this change is the use of new generation technologies that are flexible, scalable- and considerably cheaper for operator deploy.Chief among them is the Internet Protocol(IP), which all service providers have embraced since it provides a cheaper and more efficient way to move data on networks.

Using IP, a telecom network can be configured to handle telephone conversations, internet access and data transfers, video conferencing and even television-all on the same physical link. In fact, IP technology can be used to integrate wireless and wired networks and deliver advanced services to mobile phone users too. The attraction of IP to service providers is patently obvious-it eliminates the need to build multiple dedicated networks for each service, and makes the addition of new services quick. This is one reason why you see cable operators offering internet access and telephony, and telecos promising you television over the telephone line.Device and equipment manufacturers have already jumped on the convergence bandwagon. Think media center PCs, VoIP phones, home theater amps that can connect to the internet and mobile phones that can receive TV broadcasts. For consumers this technological convergence between consumer electronic products and computing devices, and between diverse communication and entertainment services is interesting.For one, it obviates the need to buy multiple specialty gadgets and gizmo's, and second, it reduces obsolescence. For every new service, you don't need a new device, just a software.

On the infrastructure front of convergence will increase competition between service providers and provide the economic incentive to craft and deliver innovative services. For instance, wouldn't you like a mobile phone that automatically switches to a landline or a WiFi network when you go home ,or enter your office-even retaining its identity? How about a video phone service at your desk? or perhaps secure payments at cinema halls with your mobile phone instead of a credit card or even cash? convergence will also enable smaller companies with good ideas bring us useful services, and perhaps even greater personalization of the services we have today.

List of service providers who provide servlet hosting

The Adrenaline Group maintains
a list of over 50 ISP's who host Java Servlets (http://www.adrenalinegroup.com/jwsisp.html) . Another list is at http://www.servlets.com.

• I have had "very happy experiences" with
  Silicon Valley Web Hosting (http://www.svwh.net/)
  for several clients.
  


• Horus Networks - http://www.horus.ch/servlets.shtml
  


• (http://www.servlets.net)
  is an ISP geared towards hosting servlets.
  


• http://www.ebpcs.net
  


• http://www.mycgiserver.com is free (!) and does EJB too
  


• http://www.tricreations.com
  


• http://www.webappcabaret.com
  
  


• http://www.cwihosting.com (see comment below)
  


• http://scorpions.net/


• Rage Media


• Rimu Hosting

A few ISPs have also said that they can host Java applications:

• The Sphere (http://www.thesphere.com/)


• Centralogic (http://www.centralogic.com/)


• Electronaut (http://www.electronaut.com/)

Anonymizer

Want to surf the internet without revealing your IP address, cokies or any other information about the sites you visit? use the free anonymous browsing service on Anonymizers' home page, and it displays the page you want!

www.anonymizer.com

Rollyo

Rollyo is short for "roll your own search engine", which means, you can create a custom selection of search engines and topics and then share the resulting "roll" with others. The free site provides logged-in users some starter rolls of its own, as well as lists of topic targeted rolls created by celebrities and other "high rollers". You can add your Rollyo search rolls to Firefox's search engine toolbar and post your roll on your own blog or web site just by copying and pasting some HTML code.

Trend Micro HouseCall

If installing antivirus and antispyware isnt an option on your pc - or if you use the machine at an internet cafe, do yourself a favor, and visit this site. Trend Micros' software runs in your browser to scan and eliminate malware in your computer.

Panda Activescan

If your antivirus software is on the blink, dont despair. Just stop by panda softwares' site for a free system scan. You'll have to download an applet, surrender your e-mail address, and use internet explorer (or firefox with the activeX plugin, if there is one!) for the duration of the scan.Panda detects and disinfects most forms of malware and will alert you to (but not fix) spyware infestations.

Get it here :


www.pandasoftware.com/products/activescan.htm

Made in china? Bye bye logitech!

I am writing this article from my new keyboard, because the keyboard I have been using for the last 14 years had stopped working!I miss my old keyboard a lot, and the noise it used to make when I typed in glorious abandon. Anyways, the old keyboards not what this article is about. Its about the new keyboard.

I went to a couple of hardware stores today, and was fascinated at the variety of keyboards available. "Give me a keyboard thats cheap" is what I told the store guy. "Right away sir", he said, with a huge smile. I finally got my hands on my new keyboard. "How much?" I asked. "150" came the reply. 150 rupees is like $4 !I quickly opened the box, to find a fairly handsome piece of hardware in my hands.I was awestruck that such a good piece of hardwares' cost was so low. I turned over the keyboard to find the words "Made in China" written.

As soon as I saw that, I decided it must not be worth the money. So, I asked for a "branded" keyboard. "Logitech will do" I told the store keeper. I was flabberghasted to find the price of a basic keyboard was 450 rupees!! I went for the chinese model, and Im happy I saved myself the 300 rupees!

The moral of the story is that though "top brands" claim to produce quality hardware, there are many other vendors who are never noticed. These companies mainly cater to people like me, and what a bunch of happy customers we are!! Ive promised never to turn to logitech again. Oh, and did I mention?...The keyboard has a warranty of 5 years. Thats good enough for me!!

This is Why piracy is rampant :

I have heard the DMC (Digital Millennium Copyright) act didn't get on well with the pirates of cyberspace. Piracy is rampant through out the world right now, and worse, people don't even know they are involved. People think that there are no "legitimate" softwares and that every copy of windows comes for free. Maybe in western countries such as the United States, there is an awareness and a prosecution to take care of extreme cases, but in eastern countries such as India, Malaysiya, and pakistan, there are absolutely No anti piracy laws in place. This ensures that cybercrime is limited to duping people as in siphoning off funds from others' bank accounts. Its only such activities that are considered a crime. Piracy?? hell, even government employees use pirated software/operating systems, because the government outsources the work to private companies, and they being private companies would want to save a few bucks here and there, and would install the same copy of the OS on multiple systems with the same product key. Unless its an open source OS, ( A rare case these days, cause everyone is addicted to WINDOWS) its a crime. Even crime cells use the same method.

Adding to that is the notion that being bad is actually good! Yes, its like going up to ones' girlfriend and telling her you robbed a bank, in which case she would try to get away from you as soon as possible, and report to the police and later testify against you in court or whatever. But this is different. When you tell somebody you are into software piracy, the listener actually starts looking upto you, as if you are some uber geek persona. So, there are a lot of posers out there, and some really talented programmers who are on the wrong side. Some of them that are noticeable are :

> CORE : Challenge of reverse engineering

These guys are living legends. These guys came to the scene at a time when reverse engineering was the field of uber geeks, thats not to say these guys aren't!

> Deviance

Another group which is very good at releasing cracked unreleased games! Yes, sometimes you will find a game on the pirate bay that you haven't ever heard of. You try to get a proper review of the game before downloading it, but Google doesn't seem to have a clue! You download the game, and the next month when youre watching TV, this games' trailer is being shown! WTF?!

> Dopeman

Does this guy need an introduction? If you are a regular to the bay, you'll know him!

> AxxO

An article on piracy is never complete without a mention of this guys' name. Another living legend in the movie piracy circuit.
I personally dont blame people for downloading crap off the internet, but I really do encourage them to pay for the software they use, maybe its a small amount, but developers need it to continue their work... Atleast thats MY perspective!!

This is Why piracy is rampant :

I have heard the DMC (Digital Millenium Copyright) act didnt get on well with the pirates of cyberspace. Piracy is rampant throught the world right now, and worse, people dont even know they are involved. People think that there are no "legitimate" softwares and that every copy of windows comes for free. Maybe in western countries such as the United States, there is an awareness and a prosecution to take care of extreme cases, but in eastern countries such as India, Malaysiya, and pakistan, there are absolutely No anti piracy laws in place. This ensures that cybercrime is limited to duping people as in siphoning off funds from others' bank accounts. Its only such activities that are considered a crime. Piracy?? hell, even government employees use pirated software/operating systems, because the government outsources the work to private companies, and they being private companies would want to save a few bucks here and there, and would install the same copy of the OS on multiple systems with the same product key. Unless its an open source OS, ( A rare case these days, cause everyone is addicted to WINDOWS) its a crime. Even crime cells use the same method.

Adding to that is the notion that being bad is actually good! Yes, its like going up to ones' girlfriend and telling her you robbed a bank, in which case she would try to get away from you as soon as possible, and report to the police and later testify against you in court or whatever. But this is different. When you tell somebody you are into software piracy, the listener actually starts looking upto you, as if you are some uber geek persona. So, there are a lot of posers out there, and some really talented programmers who are on the wrong side. Some of them that are noticable are :

> CORE : Challenge of reverse engineering

These guys are living legends. These guys came to the scene at a time when reverse engineering was the field of uber geeks, thats not to say these guys arent!

> Deviance

Another group which is very good at releasing cracked unreleased games! Yes, sometimes you will find a game on the pirate bay that you havent ever heard of. You try to get a proper review of the game before downloading it, but Google doesnt seem to have a clue! You download the game, and the next month when youre watching TV, this games' trailer is being shown! WTF?!

> Dopeman

Does this guy need an introduction? If you are a regular to the bay, you'll know him!

> AxxO

An article on piracy is never complete without a mention of this guys' name. Another living legend in the movie piracy circuit.
I personally dont blame people for downloading crap off the internet, but I really do encourage them to pay for the software they use, maybe its a small amount, but developers need it to continue their work... Atleast thats MY perspective!!

Got a dial-up? Listen to internet radio

Ive got a dialup and am experiencing speeds that are right next to pathetic. Now , what do I do for entertainment? I listen to internet radio!

I had a broadband all these days, and I used to download movies, and songs during happy hours. I had a download limit of 2.5 gb per month. I recently shifted to a place where the telephone company didn't have land line connections.

I went in for a wireless telephone with a built in modem. And believe me, it was well worth the effort. For about 5.29 dollars /250 Indian rupees, I get unlimited download, and now what do I do with it? Its too slow for downloading movies, and itll probably take ages.

I hit upon this software called "boombox". Its a handy piece of software that has a listing of all major internet radio stations. There are various genres to choose from including comedy and 80's. I found the software to be very versatile. Although the software doesnt have a built in player, it can utilize your default player such as windows media player or winamp. Whats more, you can even select the bit rate to be sure you can play it with relatively fast buffering.

24 - 32 kbps radio has ought to serve the purpose.

As I do not have a download limit, this just manages to keep me entertained all day long.

One of my favorite radio stations is "Social Crime"

Im going freelance!

Finally, I found myself a means of income, that doesnt involve working for somebody, who is always breathing down your neck. Yes, Im talking about freelancing. Its the newest buzz on the internet. Maybe you should try it to supplement your income, or better yet, make it your sole means of income!

How it works :

> Firstly, you need to get yourself an account on any of the freelancing sites such as

Elance [ Pretty good, has been in the field for a while ]

workbuggy [ Extensive ! ]

freelanceswitch [ Good... ]

There are many others, that are better, but these are my favorites.

>Secondly, start trolling for projects on these sites. Generally, they offer a limited amount of "credits", or "connects" to get you started. These are the tokens that you can use to "bid" on projects. Bidding is a process wherein you, the "provider" are going to "quote" a price for a project that interests you. Make sure you quote the lowest price, so that you get the project. Once you get a hold of things, you can quote higher prices.

>Thirdly, start building projects after deciding the means of payment. And remember, the more money you spend on memberships, the better your earnings will be. The site will start listing your name in premium categories, so that customers will be able to easily get in touch with you.

It amazes me that people/companies are willing to spend upto $500 - $1000 for a simple web page project. NO dynamic pages, NO complicated flash, for just pure HTML and a couple of images, that they will provide you.

Well, Im off to freelancing, until I can find myself a suitable job. Im considering it an important career option.