Database Design and Normalization
A nice and beginner's article for learning database design
A logical database is a collection of facts. Your company may have a personnel database wherein facts about its employees are kept. Your company may have an inventory database where it keeps facts about the numbers and kinds of objects it owns. In a relational database these facts are kept in special tables that can be manipulated by a computer. A logical database may have several related tables. For example, a library database might have a table about books and a table about library card holders (they are related because a library card holder can check out books). Database design is deciding what facts to keep in which tables.
Read on ....
Tuesday, November 29, 2005
Guide to Backing up your system!
Backing up your system!
c/p
Wouldn't it be great if every time something went wrong with your Windows set-up you could just click a few buttons and have everything restored to its original state in a matter of minutes? Well it can be done, very simply and all for free as usual.
What you need to do is get hold of some "imaging" software. What this will do is store an exact copy of your fully functioning Windows installation in a compressed format, which can at a later date be restored to its former glory when things start to go wrong. The best imaging program around at the moment is without a doubt Norton's Ghost. This is very quick and simple to use and runs from DOS so is capable of backing up all those system files which are inaccessible while you're actually within the Windows interface.
This backup process isn't as complicated as it sounds. All you have to do is store your Windows set-up on one partition of your hard drive and backup to a separate partition. The reason for this becomes clear after you have restored your backup to a partition that is already full of valuable data and find that it is all wiped out as a result! Unless you are using "Partition Magic" you will have to start with a formatted hard drive and use "fdisk", which is a DOS executable which comes as standard with Windows 95, 98 and Me. Make sure you are in DOS (not within the Windows environment, but in "real" DOS mode) now type fdisk and select create new partition. It is advisable to use somewhere between 1.5 and 2 gigabytes of your hard drive for your boot partition which will contain your Windows installation and any other essential applications. Now create an extended partition to be used for everything else you wish to store on your hard drive. Re-boot your computer and format both partitions using the command "format c:" followed by "format d:", re-install Windows to your c: drive and then backup the whole partition to your extended d: drive partition using Norton Ghost. Of course if you already have more than one hard drive installed you can skip all of this and simply back up to your second drive although this will involve wasting a hell of lot of space. The main reason for all this partitioning is to make more efficient use of the space you have available. When you backup a partition you can't select which bits you want to compress and which bits you don't, it's either all or nothing. For example if you have two 20 gigabyte drives and you store your Windows installation on one of them and everything else on the other, when you backup what's on your boot partition everything is compressed and stored in a single file not just your Windows and Program Files folders. The upshot of this is that when you decompress this image file back onto your drive you lose everything else which you may have stored on it after making your backup and this is why it is best to have a small-ish partition just for Windows.
Once you have installed Ghost within the Windows environment exit to real DOS using your boot disk and enter your Ghost installation directory. Now copy the main executable (ghost.exe) to your extended partition and run it from there. It is very important that you don't run the file from the drive you wish to backup. This is the only file you really need to perform a successful backup within DOS so if you know someone who already has this file you may want to see if they will e-mail it to you (it's only about 600 kb) rather than downloading the whole program yourself, which is about 14 mb. I'm sure the nice chaps at Norton spent a long time programming the extra Windows utilities which come as standard with Ghost, but in my opinion it's just unnecessary fluff. Now simply select the create image option from the menu, choose the drive you wish to back up, as well as the drive you want to store the image on, give it a name and press the OK button and voila, everything should be safely backed up to a single compressed archive, ready and waiting to save your PC from the dreaded blue screen of death in the future. It's worth remembering at this point that this system image is a file like any other so it can be moved around, deleted, backed up to a CD-R, chewed, sat on etc etc.
Now when Windows inevitably starts doing strange, unexplainable things or simply refuses to load (curse you Microsoft!) you can just format your primary partition and restore your original Windows set-up using Ghost. This process can seem a bit daunting at first so let me explain it in a bit more detail. Before doing anything as a drastic as wiping out your Windows partition make sure you have created a boot disk for yourself. This can be done via your Windows control panel in Windows 9? or Me, but is a bit more awkward in Windows 2000, especially if you're using a ripped version (which doesn't include the necessary boot disk creation files). The data for the standard Windows 2000 boot disk, well boot disks actually, occupies four floppies. God only knows what the justification for this is, but if you're one of the people without the option to create this boot disk you can use Norton's make boot disk command from within Windows (OK, I admit this is one of the less fluffy options!). When you've got your boot disk stick it in your floppy drive and reboot your computer. Providing your computer has been set up to first read from the floppy drive before looking for your Windows installation on your hard drive, your boot disk will take the reigns and boot your computer into real DOS mode. If on the other hand when you reboot your computer ignores the floppy completely and boots into Windows as usual will have to edit your BIOS settings. To do this press the reset button, wait for your computer's stats to appear in that familiar black and white table and press the delete key (if you're unsure of exactly when to do this just keep hammering your delete key until something happens or look out for the "press the del key now to enter your BIOS" message!). From the basic settings section of your BIOS menu you should be able to select your first, second, third and fourth boot device. Make sure your floppy drive is selected as the first boot device followed by your hard drive, save the settings and reboot once again.
Once you arrive at the DOS prompt, format your Windows partition using the command format c:/q - the q switch allows you to format a previously formatted drive in a matter of seconds rather than minutes. If you've never formatted before leave out the switch and twiddle your thumbs while you wait. Formatting isn't strictly necessary at this stage as Ghost will overwrite everything for you, but I like to be thorough to make sure everything runs smoothly. Now to restore your compressed image file enter your Ghost installation direction using the cd command and type "ghost". Browse through the menu until you come to the restore image option, select it, locate your image file and then press the OK button. Tell Ghost where you want to extract it to (i.e the c: drive) and click OK. When the decompression process is complete, reset your computer and let it boot into Windows as usual. And finally (take a deep breath!) step back from your screen in astonishment and admire your brand new, good as the day it was first installed Windows set up. Once you recover from the shock of how easy all this was you can proceed to fill up your computer with useless programs and games that you'll never use, safe in the knowledge that you can wipe the whole lot out and restore your set up whenever you like with a few simple steps.
Other program I like and have use that done me good in the past Acronis.
And Terabyte Unlimited make good programs also worth a try also.
http://www.terabyteunlimited.com/
http://www.acronis.com/
c/p
Wouldn't it be great if every time something went wrong with your Windows set-up you could just click a few buttons and have everything restored to its original state in a matter of minutes? Well it can be done, very simply and all for free as usual.
What you need to do is get hold of some "imaging" software. What this will do is store an exact copy of your fully functioning Windows installation in a compressed format, which can at a later date be restored to its former glory when things start to go wrong. The best imaging program around at the moment is without a doubt Norton's Ghost. This is very quick and simple to use and runs from DOS so is capable of backing up all those system files which are inaccessible while you're actually within the Windows interface.
This backup process isn't as complicated as it sounds. All you have to do is store your Windows set-up on one partition of your hard drive and backup to a separate partition. The reason for this becomes clear after you have restored your backup to a partition that is already full of valuable data and find that it is all wiped out as a result! Unless you are using "Partition Magic" you will have to start with a formatted hard drive and use "fdisk", which is a DOS executable which comes as standard with Windows 95, 98 and Me. Make sure you are in DOS (not within the Windows environment, but in "real" DOS mode) now type fdisk and select create new partition. It is advisable to use somewhere between 1.5 and 2 gigabytes of your hard drive for your boot partition which will contain your Windows installation and any other essential applications. Now create an extended partition to be used for everything else you wish to store on your hard drive. Re-boot your computer and format both partitions using the command "format c:" followed by "format d:", re-install Windows to your c: drive and then backup the whole partition to your extended d: drive partition using Norton Ghost. Of course if you already have more than one hard drive installed you can skip all of this and simply back up to your second drive although this will involve wasting a hell of lot of space. The main reason for all this partitioning is to make more efficient use of the space you have available. When you backup a partition you can't select which bits you want to compress and which bits you don't, it's either all or nothing. For example if you have two 20 gigabyte drives and you store your Windows installation on one of them and everything else on the other, when you backup what's on your boot partition everything is compressed and stored in a single file not just your Windows and Program Files folders. The upshot of this is that when you decompress this image file back onto your drive you lose everything else which you may have stored on it after making your backup and this is why it is best to have a small-ish partition just for Windows.
Once you have installed Ghost within the Windows environment exit to real DOS using your boot disk and enter your Ghost installation directory. Now copy the main executable (ghost.exe) to your extended partition and run it from there. It is very important that you don't run the file from the drive you wish to backup. This is the only file you really need to perform a successful backup within DOS so if you know someone who already has this file you may want to see if they will e-mail it to you (it's only about 600 kb) rather than downloading the whole program yourself, which is about 14 mb. I'm sure the nice chaps at Norton spent a long time programming the extra Windows utilities which come as standard with Ghost, but in my opinion it's just unnecessary fluff. Now simply select the create image option from the menu, choose the drive you wish to back up, as well as the drive you want to store the image on, give it a name and press the OK button and voila, everything should be safely backed up to a single compressed archive, ready and waiting to save your PC from the dreaded blue screen of death in the future. It's worth remembering at this point that this system image is a file like any other so it can be moved around, deleted, backed up to a CD-R, chewed, sat on etc etc.
Now when Windows inevitably starts doing strange, unexplainable things or simply refuses to load (curse you Microsoft!) you can just format your primary partition and restore your original Windows set-up using Ghost. This process can seem a bit daunting at first so let me explain it in a bit more detail. Before doing anything as a drastic as wiping out your Windows partition make sure you have created a boot disk for yourself. This can be done via your Windows control panel in Windows 9? or Me, but is a bit more awkward in Windows 2000, especially if you're using a ripped version (which doesn't include the necessary boot disk creation files). The data for the standard Windows 2000 boot disk, well boot disks actually, occupies four floppies. God only knows what the justification for this is, but if you're one of the people without the option to create this boot disk you can use Norton's make boot disk command from within Windows (OK, I admit this is one of the less fluffy options!). When you've got your boot disk stick it in your floppy drive and reboot your computer. Providing your computer has been set up to first read from the floppy drive before looking for your Windows installation on your hard drive, your boot disk will take the reigns and boot your computer into real DOS mode. If on the other hand when you reboot your computer ignores the floppy completely and boots into Windows as usual will have to edit your BIOS settings. To do this press the reset button, wait for your computer's stats to appear in that familiar black and white table and press the delete key (if you're unsure of exactly when to do this just keep hammering your delete key until something happens or look out for the "press the del key now to enter your BIOS" message!). From the basic settings section of your BIOS menu you should be able to select your first, second, third and fourth boot device. Make sure your floppy drive is selected as the first boot device followed by your hard drive, save the settings and reboot once again.
Once you arrive at the DOS prompt, format your Windows partition using the command format c:/q - the q switch allows you to format a previously formatted drive in a matter of seconds rather than minutes. If you've never formatted before leave out the switch and twiddle your thumbs while you wait. Formatting isn't strictly necessary at this stage as Ghost will overwrite everything for you, but I like to be thorough to make sure everything runs smoothly. Now to restore your compressed image file enter your Ghost installation direction using the cd command and type "ghost". Browse through the menu until you come to the restore image option, select it, locate your image file and then press the OK button. Tell Ghost where you want to extract it to (i.e the c: drive) and click OK. When the decompression process is complete, reset your computer and let it boot into Windows as usual. And finally (take a deep breath!) step back from your screen in astonishment and admire your brand new, good as the day it was first installed Windows set up. Once you recover from the shock of how easy all this was you can proceed to fill up your computer with useless programs and games that you'll never use, safe in the knowledge that you can wipe the whole lot out and restore your set up whenever you like with a few simple steps.
Other program I like and have use that done me good in the past Acronis.
And Terabyte Unlimited make good programs also worth a try also.
http://www.terabyteunlimited.com/
http://www.acronis.com/
Friday, November 25, 2005
Pi to 1,000,000 places
Pi to 1,000,000 places: "Pi to one MILLION decimal places"
Checkout this site to get Most accurate value of PI
Checkout this site to get Most accurate value of PI
Thursday, November 24, 2005
Is Some thing strange with IE ?
My friend Vinod asked me ?
Create a folder on the desktop and name it "Notepad".
Open a web-page (any web-page) in IE and see its view source (right click on the web-page - view source).
============
ne ideas, why is it so ??
Me :
Because Desktop is a instance of IE only
So its default path is set to desktop folder
When you say View source it runs a command
Notepad “URL”
When you create a folder it first gives preference to open folder.
You can also try this like put any .exe/.bat file on desktop and rename it as notepad.exe/.bat
It will get executed if you try to view source
Cheers
Create a folder on the desktop and name it "Notepad".
Open a web-page (any web-page) in IE and see its view source (right click on the web-page - view source).
============
ne ideas, why is it so ??
Me :
Because Desktop is a instance of IE only
So its default path is set to desktop folder
When you say View source it runs a command
Notepad “URL”
When you create a folder it first gives preference to open folder.
You can also try this like put any .exe/.bat file on desktop and rename it as notepad.exe/.bat
It will get executed if you try to view source
Cheers
Wednesday, November 23, 2005
SQL Server 2000 Installation Fails with "...previous program installation..." Error Message
Posting Previous Post Again with details
When you install SQL Server 2000, this error message may occur: A previous program installation created pending file operations on the installation machine. You must restart the computer before running setup. After the error message appears, the installation will not continue until you address the problem.
While installing SQL Server you face this proble . To resove it take following Steps
Restart the computer and see if you are able to run the setup. If the restart does not help, use the steps that follow.
Perform these steps and then run the SQL Server 2000 setup again:
a. Click Start, and then click Run.
b. In the Open dialog box, type: "Regedit" (without the quotation marks) or "Regedt32" (without the quotation marks)
c. Click OK.NOTE: Please make sure that you only delete the value mentioned, not the whole session manager key.
d. In Registry Editor, expand the following registry subkey: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager
e. On the File menu, click Export.NOTE: In Microsoft Windows 2000, click Export Registry File from the Registry menu.
f. In the File name text box, type: "Session Manager Key" (without the quotation marks)
g. Click Save.
h. In the right-pane of the Registry Editor window, right-click PendingFileRenameOperations. On the shortcut menu that appears, click Delete.
i. In the Confirm Value Delete message dialog box that appears, click Yes.
j. On the File menu, click Exit.NOTE: In Windows 2000, click Exit on the Registry menu.
k. Restart the computer.
Continue installation of SQL Server
When you install SQL Server 2000, this error message may occur: A previous program installation created pending file operations on the installation machine. You must restart the computer before running setup. After the error message appears, the installation will not continue until you address the problem.
While installing SQL Server you face this proble . To resove it take following Steps
Restart the computer and see if you are able to run the setup. If the restart does not help, use the steps that follow.
Perform these steps and then run the SQL Server 2000 setup again:
a. Click Start, and then click Run.
b. In the Open dialog box, type: "Regedit" (without the quotation marks) or "Regedt32" (without the quotation marks)
c. Click OK.NOTE: Please make sure that you only delete the value mentioned, not the whole session manager key.
d. In Registry Editor, expand the following registry subkey: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager
e. On the File menu, click Export.NOTE: In Microsoft Windows 2000, click Export Registry File from the Registry menu.
f. In the File name text box, type: "Session Manager Key" (without the quotation marks)
g. Click Save.
h. In the right-pane of the Registry Editor window, right-click PendingFileRenameOperations. On the shortcut menu that appears, click Delete.
i. In the Confirm Value Delete message dialog box that appears, click Yes.
j. On the File menu, click Exit.NOTE: In Windows 2000, click Exit on the Registry menu.
k. Restart the computer.
Continue installation of SQL Server
Monday, November 21, 2005
Starting new photography blog
Hello all ,
I have just created a new blog share my phtographs , Discuss photography skills and enhance them is the basline for this
Have a look at it
http://rahulphotography.blogspot.com/
Thanks
I have just created a new blog share my phtographs , Discuss photography skills and enhance them is the basline for this
Have a look at it
http://rahulphotography.blogspot.com/
Thanks
Friday, November 18, 2005
मराठी साहित्य (Marathi Literature)
मराठी साहित्य (Marathi Literature) While Browing net I just found this Interesting and beautiful blog. There are very little web sites in marathi as compared.
Congratulations on doing this beautiful blog
Congratulations on doing this beautiful blog
See if Files, Folders and Drives Exist
These functions will allow to determine whether files, folders and drives exist at runtime.
Code to see whether a file exists:
Public Function FExists(OrigFile As String)
Dim fs
Set fs = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
FExists = fs.fileexists(OrigFile)
End Function
'Returns a boolean - True if the file exists
Code to see whether a folder exists:
Public Function DirExists(OrigFile As String)
Dim fs
Set fs = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
DirExists = fs.folderexists(OrigFile)
End Function
'Returns a boolean - True if the folder exists
Code to check the state of a drive (returns 0 if the drive does not exist, 1 if the drive exists but contains no media, 2 if the drive exists and contains media. Hard-drives will always return 2):
Public Function DExists(OrigFile As String)
Dim fs, d
Set fs = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
If fs.driveexists(OrigFile) = True Then
Set d = fs.getdrive(OrigFile)
DExists = 1
If d.isready = True Then
DExists = 2
Exit Function
End If
Else
DExists = 0
End If
End Function
Code to see whether a file exists:
Public Function FExists(OrigFile As String)
Dim fs
Set fs = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
FExists = fs.fileexists(OrigFile)
End Function
'Returns a boolean - True if the file exists
Code to see whether a folder exists:
Public Function DirExists(OrigFile As String)
Dim fs
Set fs = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
DirExists = fs.folderexists(OrigFile)
End Function
'Returns a boolean - True if the folder exists
Code to check the state of a drive (returns 0 if the drive does not exist, 1 if the drive exists but contains no media, 2 if the drive exists and contains media. Hard-drives will always return 2):
Public Function DExists(OrigFile As String)
Dim fs, d
Set fs = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
If fs.driveexists(OrigFile) = True Then
Set d = fs.getdrive(OrigFile)
DExists = 1
If d.isready = True Then
DExists = 2
Exit Function
End If
Else
DExists = 0
End If
End Function
WAP tips top WAP Sites
WAP tips top WAP Sites: "Top Ten Tips for WAP Developers"
If you are planning on developing a WAP site, don't treat it like a small web site - treat it instead as a mobile relationship tool, or a means of delivering specific, relevant information. WAP has advantages too.
This is a nice site to tips for Building Wap Site
If you are planning on developing a WAP site, don't treat it like a small web site - treat it instead as a mobile relationship tool, or a means of delivering specific, relevant information. WAP has advantages too.
This is a nice site to tips for Building Wap Site
What is WAP?
WAP stands for Wireless Application Protocol, and quite simply, it allows you to access information and services from the Internet on your mobile phone. WAP works in a similar way to the internet, users can view WAP sites from many different companies and individuals with a range of content. A lot of things available on the internet are also available on WAP. WAP offers the following features to WAP users:
email - read and reply to their emails
chat rooms - users can chat and make friends in a range of themed chat rooms. It's similar to sending SMS message, but to lots of people at once.
news - read the latest news headlines
sports - get the latest sports results and news
share prices - check the movement of your share prices
weather - check our the latest weather forecasts.
entertainment - Enter exclusive competitions and get the latest entertainment gossip
horoscopes - Check you horoscope, or find out your love compatibility with your loved one!
games - play a game online with other people
travel - users can check train timetables to make sure they don't miss the last ride home.
shopping - Go shopping for CDs, DVDs, books and more.
plus much more...
email - read and reply to their emails
chat rooms - users can chat and make friends in a range of themed chat rooms. It's similar to sending SMS message, but to lots of people at once.
news - read the latest news headlines
sports - get the latest sports results and news
share prices - check the movement of your share prices
weather - check our the latest weather forecasts.
entertainment - Enter exclusive competitions and get the latest entertainment gossip
horoscopes - Check you horoscope, or find out your love compatibility with your loved one!
games - play a game online with other people
travel - users can check train timetables to make sure they don't miss the last ride home.
shopping - Go shopping for CDs, DVDs, books and more.
plus much more...
Tuesday, November 15, 2005
10 things you should do to a new PC before connecting it to the Internet
10 things you should do to a new PC before connecting it to the Internet
To prevent the frustration that comes with re-installing Windows, you should take the necessary steps to update, configure, and patch your new PC. Keep in mind that no matter how new your PC is, it will most likely need patching and it will definitely need to be properly configured. Here are 10 basic things you should do before attaching the Internet to a new PC.
Step 1: Make a starter CD-ROM
Step 2: Remove the promotional apps
Step 3: Install antivirus software
Step 4: Turn on a software firewall
Step 5: Install printers and other peripherals
Step 6: Establish a password
Step 7: Create a new user account with password
Step 8: Turn off unnecessary Windows services
Step 9: Establish a system restore point
Step 10: Install and configure a router
To prevent the frustration that comes with re-installing Windows, you should take the necessary steps to update, configure, and patch your new PC. Keep in mind that no matter how new your PC is, it will most likely need patching and it will definitely need to be properly configured. Here are 10 basic things you should do before attaching the Internet to a new PC.
Step 1: Make a starter CD-ROM
Step 2: Remove the promotional apps
Step 3: Install antivirus software
Step 4: Turn on a software firewall
Step 5: Install printers and other peripherals
Step 6: Establish a password
Step 7: Create a new user account with password
Step 8: Turn off unnecessary Windows services
Step 9: Establish a system restore point
Step 10: Install and configure a router
ISO's Faq
ISOs
Q. What is an ISO?
A. An ISO is an exact copy of an original CD, all the multimedia bits and pieces are uncut and therefore they are extremely large and awkward to download. The best place to find them is on FTP sites and for an ISO to work correctly it must be burnt onto a blank CD (the exception to the rule is when you use a CD emulator such as Virtual Drive - read on to learn more).
Q. I've just burnt a data ISO, but have ended up with a useless audio CD. What am I doing wrong?
A. Did you load the .cue sheet before burning or just the main .bin file? Maybe your ISO didn't come with a cue file at all because someone forgot to include it. Well whatever the reason, if you've bypassed the cue file you've probably confused your CD writing software. Because the cue file lets your software know which mode to use when burning an ISO if you don't open this file to begin with it automatically uses the default setting (usually it assumes you want to make an audio CD).
Another possible explanation is that you have a corrupt cue file, which contains incorrect file location information. If this is the case you can edit your cue file to check which directory it is pointing to. If your bin file is in a directory other than the one referred to in the cue file you have two options, you either move the bin file to match the path in the cue file or you edit the cue file so that it corresponds to the directory in which your bin file is stored. It is often more practical to delete the path reference altogether and just leave the name of the file. This way your burning software will assume that the bin file and cue file are in the same directory.
And finally, some burning software (such as CD-R Win) contains built in anti-piracy protection so that if you have used a blacklisted serial number or a faulty crack the program will only produce blank or audio CDs. The problem here is that you're not likely to get a little animated character (a la the Microsoft helper) to pop up and tell you "we know you're trying to use our product without paying for it and so this program will only create duff CDs". Instead the program just carries on as normal as though everything is going according to plan and creates a useless coaster with no hint of an explanation. The only way around this is to use a better crack or a serial number that you definitely know works (you could ask someone on a bulletin board about their experiences with different numbers).
Q. I've downloaded an ISO, but there's no sign of a cue file. What do I do now?
A. If it's an application which doesn't necessarily have to be installed from a CD you can use ISO Buster to extract the .bin file to your hard drive. Once extracted all that remains to be done is to sift through the files until you find the main installation file and run it. Although this method can be used for games which have to be run from a CD-R it is a bit trickier which is why I'd recommend converting the .bin file into another format before burning it. To do this get hold of the "Bin2Iso Converter" (available from http://www.cdrsoft.net) and use it to convert the file to .iso format. Now acquire a copy EZ CD Creator and use it to open the new .iso file. Finally, select the "create from CD image" option from the file menu and simply burn it in the usual way.
Q. I want to use an ISO, but haven't got a CD writer. Is there any way I can run an ISO from my hard drive?
A. Yes, it's possible to do this. First of all you need to get hold of a program that is capable of extracting ISO format files, Win Image will do very nicely. Install the program, run it and select the "file" option from the menu bar. Now choose the open option. Search through your hard drive for the ISO file you wish to decompress and double click on it. The next step is to return to the menu bar. This time select the "image" option and scroll down the list until you come across the word "extract". If you click on this, a dialogue box should appear to ask you where you would like to extract the files to. Pick a suitable directory and press the extract button.
Now if your ISO happens to be an application you can just browse through the extracted files until you find one labeled setup.exe or install.exe and run it. Once the program is installed you will no longer need the extracted files so they can be deleted to conserve hard drive space (remember to keep the ISO file, however, in case you need to re-install at a later date). Now you can congratulate yourself on a job well done and start using your new application immediately.
On the other hand if you are attempting to install a game, your task is going to be a bit more tricky. First of all you will have to choose one of two options. The first is to install the game and overwrite the main executable file in the directory you have installed the game to with a cracked replacement exe. In this case the game would be playable, but because the crack bypasses any CD checks you will probably lose any audio tracks/ and or video sequences which are stored within the CD image. This is the quick and easy route, but really defeats the object of downloading an ISO file, because then, essentially what you have is a rip. If you decide to take this path make sure you select the "full installation" option if there is one when you install the game to ensure that your hard drive can read the maximum amount of data that is available without accessing the CD itself.
If you are a bit more patient, a better option is to use a piece of CD emulation software. This allows you to keep the extracted image file on your hard drive while tricking your computer into thinking that it is really in your CD drive. A good program to start with is Virtual Drive. Once this is installed all you have to do is select the directory where you have extracted the ISO image file to and choose the "mount" function. This will create a new virtual CD icon which can be accessed through Explorer in the same way as any other normal CD. Because Virtual Drive incorporates "on the fly" data compression your CD images will take up minimal space on your hard drive until the moment they are being accessed. Also, because hard drives are many times faster than CD drives your games will run at a lightning fast pace without the need to wait for your drive to start up. To begin using a virtual CD simply double click on its icon as though it were a real CD and wait for the installation menu appear. Now install the game and play as usual with the added bonus that you'll never be able to lose the CD behind the couch because there isn't one.
Q. But I don't like Virtual Drive, are there any other programs which will perform the same function?
A. Yup, have a wander over to Daemon's Home and see what you can find. An even better solution, however, is to stump up the cash for a CD writer. They're very cheap nowadays and really are an essential part of any warezoholic's toolkit. I don't know how I'd live without mine!
Q. What is an SFV file?
A. These are tiny files which can be created using a program called Win SFV. They can be opened in any text editor and serve to verify the CRC status of a set of compressed files to make sure that the files that you have on your hard drive are identical to the ones that were originally uploaded to the net. Apparently, if you want to do it the sexy way you can use Hoopy's PD SFV. Not only will this utility enable you to check your SFV files, it will also allow you to create new ones for your own DIY releases.
Q. I'm trying to burn an ISO image file, but it's much larger than the capacity of my CD-Rs. How do I make it fit?
A. ISO images very often contain more data than you can squeeze onto a 650mb or 700mb CD-R, but this is nothing to worry about. You see these inflated ISO files also contain all the necessary formatting information needed to reproduce the original CD. This can be anywhere in the region of a few to hundreds of megabytes. However, what is important is not the size of the file to begin with, but the estimated time it will occupy on the burnt CD. If in doubt open the "CD Info" dialog box within your CD writing software and look for a reference to how many minutes worth of data your ISO is going to require. If this is less than 74 minutes use a standard CD-R and if it is somewhere between 74 and 80 minutes use an extra length 700mb CD-R.
Q. How can I tell whether or not a CD has been copy protected?
A. You can sometimes guess what method of protection has been used manually by looking at the contents or the physical structure of a CD, but a much more accurate way would be to use CD Protection Scout. This completely free utility will automatically detect the presence of a multitude of different protection systems and report its findings in an easy to understand format. Once you have this vital information at your fingertips you can enter it into Clone CD to produce a perfect copy of whatever it is you wish to duplicate.
Q. I've downloaded an ISO archive containing three files with the extensions CCD, IMG and SUB. What am I supposed to do with them?
A. These files are part of an image created using Clone CD. The CCD file works in a similar fashion to the CUE files mentioned above, which you are probably more familiar with. A CCD file contains information regarding the logical structure of the CD and is the file you would open in Clone CD in order to burn the image to a CD-R. When this file is opened the other two files are automatically processed providing they are stored in the same directory and share the same filename. The IMG, or image file, contains the main channel data of all tracks of the CD and the SUB file contains the sub channel data of all the tracks of the CD. To burn a Clone CD image you would select "write from file" from the "file" menu, browse for the CCD file and select OK.
Q. Which program should I use to extract an ISO in C2D format?
A. The C2D format was originally devised by Cequadrat and is designed to be used with their homegrown CD writing app, Win On CD. However, this is a very bulky and unnecessary download if you only wish to use it to burn one ISO. Instead you might want to try ISO Buster, which is a mere one meg download and is free to boot. As well as offering support for Win On CD file types, ISO Buster can also handle Nero, Clone CD, Blind Read and EZ CD Creator formats without breaking into a sweat so is a good all round burning prog to add to your collection.
Q. If it's so easy to bypass the copy protection of original CDs using Clone CD why don't the release groups use it?
A. That's a very good question and one that's very difficult to answer definitively. Clone CD has been used in the past to produce warez releases, but they tend to be just the older games and applications which most people already have or aren't interested in - this is why they haven't received much attention on warez sites. Quite recently a release group (whose name escapes me at the moment) appeared who specialised in old cloned games, but they seem to have vanished just as quickly as they arrived - I expect they were heralded as impostors and hounded out by the "real" crackers.
Although Clone CD doesn't get on well with all hardware configurations, I don't think the problem lies in incompatibility issues. To use a Clone CD release you don't necessarily have to have a CD writer as you can convert the image files to another format and then extract them to your hard drive to be used with Virtual Drive or a similar CD mounting program. On the other hand if you have got a CD writer, but one which doesn't support Clone CD, you can convert the files to a format which your writer does support and then burn it to a CD afterwards.
I think a lot of it comes down to tradition; cracking an original CD is a fine art form which takes many years to master and I doubt very much that the release groups relish the prospect of being usurped by an automated program. I'm sure that in many cases Clone CD could quite easily put the crackers out of a job, but it's a job they're not willing to give up without a battle.
Q. What is an ISO?
A. An ISO is an exact copy of an original CD, all the multimedia bits and pieces are uncut and therefore they are extremely large and awkward to download. The best place to find them is on FTP sites and for an ISO to work correctly it must be burnt onto a blank CD (the exception to the rule is when you use a CD emulator such as Virtual Drive - read on to learn more).
Q. I've just burnt a data ISO, but have ended up with a useless audio CD. What am I doing wrong?
A. Did you load the .cue sheet before burning or just the main .bin file? Maybe your ISO didn't come with a cue file at all because someone forgot to include it. Well whatever the reason, if you've bypassed the cue file you've probably confused your CD writing software. Because the cue file lets your software know which mode to use when burning an ISO if you don't open this file to begin with it automatically uses the default setting (usually it assumes you want to make an audio CD).
Another possible explanation is that you have a corrupt cue file, which contains incorrect file location information. If this is the case you can edit your cue file to check which directory it is pointing to. If your bin file is in a directory other than the one referred to in the cue file you have two options, you either move the bin file to match the path in the cue file or you edit the cue file so that it corresponds to the directory in which your bin file is stored. It is often more practical to delete the path reference altogether and just leave the name of the file. This way your burning software will assume that the bin file and cue file are in the same directory.
And finally, some burning software (such as CD-R Win) contains built in anti-piracy protection so that if you have used a blacklisted serial number or a faulty crack the program will only produce blank or audio CDs. The problem here is that you're not likely to get a little animated character (a la the Microsoft helper) to pop up and tell you "we know you're trying to use our product without paying for it and so this program will only create duff CDs". Instead the program just carries on as normal as though everything is going according to plan and creates a useless coaster with no hint of an explanation. The only way around this is to use a better crack or a serial number that you definitely know works (you could ask someone on a bulletin board about their experiences with different numbers).
Q. I've downloaded an ISO, but there's no sign of a cue file. What do I do now?
A. If it's an application which doesn't necessarily have to be installed from a CD you can use ISO Buster to extract the .bin file to your hard drive. Once extracted all that remains to be done is to sift through the files until you find the main installation file and run it. Although this method can be used for games which have to be run from a CD-R it is a bit trickier which is why I'd recommend converting the .bin file into another format before burning it. To do this get hold of the "Bin2Iso Converter" (available from http://www.cdrsoft.net) and use it to convert the file to .iso format. Now acquire a copy EZ CD Creator and use it to open the new .iso file. Finally, select the "create from CD image" option from the file menu and simply burn it in the usual way.
Q. I want to use an ISO, but haven't got a CD writer. Is there any way I can run an ISO from my hard drive?
A. Yes, it's possible to do this. First of all you need to get hold of a program that is capable of extracting ISO format files, Win Image will do very nicely. Install the program, run it and select the "file" option from the menu bar. Now choose the open option. Search through your hard drive for the ISO file you wish to decompress and double click on it. The next step is to return to the menu bar. This time select the "image" option and scroll down the list until you come across the word "extract". If you click on this, a dialogue box should appear to ask you where you would like to extract the files to. Pick a suitable directory and press the extract button.
Now if your ISO happens to be an application you can just browse through the extracted files until you find one labeled setup.exe or install.exe and run it. Once the program is installed you will no longer need the extracted files so they can be deleted to conserve hard drive space (remember to keep the ISO file, however, in case you need to re-install at a later date). Now you can congratulate yourself on a job well done and start using your new application immediately.
On the other hand if you are attempting to install a game, your task is going to be a bit more tricky. First of all you will have to choose one of two options. The first is to install the game and overwrite the main executable file in the directory you have installed the game to with a cracked replacement exe. In this case the game would be playable, but because the crack bypasses any CD checks you will probably lose any audio tracks/ and or video sequences which are stored within the CD image. This is the quick and easy route, but really defeats the object of downloading an ISO file, because then, essentially what you have is a rip. If you decide to take this path make sure you select the "full installation" option if there is one when you install the game to ensure that your hard drive can read the maximum amount of data that is available without accessing the CD itself.
If you are a bit more patient, a better option is to use a piece of CD emulation software. This allows you to keep the extracted image file on your hard drive while tricking your computer into thinking that it is really in your CD drive. A good program to start with is Virtual Drive. Once this is installed all you have to do is select the directory where you have extracted the ISO image file to and choose the "mount" function. This will create a new virtual CD icon which can be accessed through Explorer in the same way as any other normal CD. Because Virtual Drive incorporates "on the fly" data compression your CD images will take up minimal space on your hard drive until the moment they are being accessed. Also, because hard drives are many times faster than CD drives your games will run at a lightning fast pace without the need to wait for your drive to start up. To begin using a virtual CD simply double click on its icon as though it were a real CD and wait for the installation menu appear. Now install the game and play as usual with the added bonus that you'll never be able to lose the CD behind the couch because there isn't one.
Q. But I don't like Virtual Drive, are there any other programs which will perform the same function?
A. Yup, have a wander over to Daemon's Home and see what you can find. An even better solution, however, is to stump up the cash for a CD writer. They're very cheap nowadays and really are an essential part of any warezoholic's toolkit. I don't know how I'd live without mine!
Q. What is an SFV file?
A. These are tiny files which can be created using a program called Win SFV. They can be opened in any text editor and serve to verify the CRC status of a set of compressed files to make sure that the files that you have on your hard drive are identical to the ones that were originally uploaded to the net. Apparently, if you want to do it the sexy way you can use Hoopy's PD SFV. Not only will this utility enable you to check your SFV files, it will also allow you to create new ones for your own DIY releases.
Q. I'm trying to burn an ISO image file, but it's much larger than the capacity of my CD-Rs. How do I make it fit?
A. ISO images very often contain more data than you can squeeze onto a 650mb or 700mb CD-R, but this is nothing to worry about. You see these inflated ISO files also contain all the necessary formatting information needed to reproduce the original CD. This can be anywhere in the region of a few to hundreds of megabytes. However, what is important is not the size of the file to begin with, but the estimated time it will occupy on the burnt CD. If in doubt open the "CD Info" dialog box within your CD writing software and look for a reference to how many minutes worth of data your ISO is going to require. If this is less than 74 minutes use a standard CD-R and if it is somewhere between 74 and 80 minutes use an extra length 700mb CD-R.
Q. How can I tell whether or not a CD has been copy protected?
A. You can sometimes guess what method of protection has been used manually by looking at the contents or the physical structure of a CD, but a much more accurate way would be to use CD Protection Scout. This completely free utility will automatically detect the presence of a multitude of different protection systems and report its findings in an easy to understand format. Once you have this vital information at your fingertips you can enter it into Clone CD to produce a perfect copy of whatever it is you wish to duplicate.
Q. I've downloaded an ISO archive containing three files with the extensions CCD, IMG and SUB. What am I supposed to do with them?
A. These files are part of an image created using Clone CD. The CCD file works in a similar fashion to the CUE files mentioned above, which you are probably more familiar with. A CCD file contains information regarding the logical structure of the CD and is the file you would open in Clone CD in order to burn the image to a CD-R. When this file is opened the other two files are automatically processed providing they are stored in the same directory and share the same filename. The IMG, or image file, contains the main channel data of all tracks of the CD and the SUB file contains the sub channel data of all the tracks of the CD. To burn a Clone CD image you would select "write from file" from the "file" menu, browse for the CCD file and select OK.
Q. Which program should I use to extract an ISO in C2D format?
A. The C2D format was originally devised by Cequadrat and is designed to be used with their homegrown CD writing app, Win On CD. However, this is a very bulky and unnecessary download if you only wish to use it to burn one ISO. Instead you might want to try ISO Buster, which is a mere one meg download and is free to boot. As well as offering support for Win On CD file types, ISO Buster can also handle Nero, Clone CD, Blind Read and EZ CD Creator formats without breaking into a sweat so is a good all round burning prog to add to your collection.
Q. If it's so easy to bypass the copy protection of original CDs using Clone CD why don't the release groups use it?
A. That's a very good question and one that's very difficult to answer definitively. Clone CD has been used in the past to produce warez releases, but they tend to be just the older games and applications which most people already have or aren't interested in - this is why they haven't received much attention on warez sites. Quite recently a release group (whose name escapes me at the moment) appeared who specialised in old cloned games, but they seem to have vanished just as quickly as they arrived - I expect they were heralded as impostors and hounded out by the "real" crackers.
Although Clone CD doesn't get on well with all hardware configurations, I don't think the problem lies in incompatibility issues. To use a Clone CD release you don't necessarily have to have a CD writer as you can convert the image files to another format and then extract them to your hard drive to be used with Virtual Drive or a similar CD mounting program. On the other hand if you have got a CD writer, but one which doesn't support Clone CD, you can convert the files to a format which your writer does support and then burn it to a CD afterwards.
I think a lot of it comes down to tradition; cracking an original CD is a fine art form which takes many years to master and I doubt very much that the release groups relish the prospect of being usurped by an automated program. I'm sure that in many cases Clone CD could quite easily put the crackers out of a job, but it's a job they're not willing to give up without a battle.
Monday, November 14, 2005
Make Windows Explorer Open To C: Drive
Make Windows Explorer Open To C: Drive
For XP users
In Windows XP the default when opening Windows Explorer is My Documents. In Windows 98 it was the C: drive and I prefer it that way. Some times I even set it to open to the D: drive for quick access to my downloaded files on that drive. If you have several links to Windows Explorer already (in the quick launch, on the desktop etc.) each one will have to be done separately but if you have just one in your start menu and you fix that one then you can put it on your desktop or the quick launch bar and the change will go with it.
Heres how:
find your Windows explorer short cuts and right click properties you will see the Target: window with System root surrounded by percent signs ending with explorer.exe. At the end of explorer.ex add a space then switch and e,c: and end with a back space like this:
%SystemRoot%\explorer.exe /e,c:\ (note that there is a space between the .exe and the switch /)
Now explorer will open to the C: drive instead of My Documents.
If you change the c to a d the D: drive will be opened.
What do you think would happen if I entered this:
%SystemRoot%\explorer.exe /e,d:\Downloads
The D: drive would open with the Downloads folder open as well.
For XP users
In Windows XP the default when opening Windows Explorer is My Documents. In Windows 98 it was the C: drive and I prefer it that way. Some times I even set it to open to the D: drive for quick access to my downloaded files on that drive. If you have several links to Windows Explorer already (in the quick launch, on the desktop etc.) each one will have to be done separately but if you have just one in your start menu and you fix that one then you can put it on your desktop or the quick launch bar and the change will go with it.
Heres how:
find your Windows explorer short cuts and right click properties you will see the Target: window with System root surrounded by percent signs ending with explorer.exe. At the end of explorer.ex add a space then switch and e,c: and end with a back space like this:
%SystemRoot%\explorer.exe /e,c:\ (note that there is a space between the .exe and the switch /)
Now explorer will open to the C: drive instead of My Documents.
If you change the c to a d the D: drive will be opened.
What do you think would happen if I entered this:
%SystemRoot%\explorer.exe /e,d:\Downloads
The D: drive would open with the Downloads folder open as well.
Thursday, November 10, 2005
How to Change Drive Letters
How to Change Drive Letters
If you want to change the letters assigned to your fixed or removable drives:
Right Click on My Computer
Select Manage
Select Disk Management
For a Fixed Disk:
Select it
Right click
Select Change Drive Letter and Path
Click on the Edit button
Enter in the letter you want to use
For a Removable Disk:
In the lower, right hand panel, right click on the Disk or CD ROM #
Select Change Drive Letter and Path
Click on the Edit button
Enter in the letter you want to use
Note: This can only be done for drives that do not have the Operating System Installed or you are booting to.
If you want to change the letters assigned to your fixed or removable drives:
Right Click on My Computer
Select Manage
Select Disk Management
For a Fixed Disk:
Select it
Right click
Select Change Drive Letter and Path
Click on the Edit button
Enter in the letter you want to use
For a Removable Disk:
In the lower, right hand panel, right click on the Disk or CD ROM #
Select Change Drive Letter and Path
Click on the Edit button
Enter in the letter you want to use
Note: This can only be done for drives that do not have the Operating System Installed or you are booting to.
The complete guide to firewalls for newbies
The complete guide to firewalls for newbies
Viruses, trojans, script kiddies, denial-of-service attacks – the Internet can be a dangerous place for the unwary. Even big companies aren’t immune, with regular embarrassing stories about how credit card numbers (or other personal information) they’ve collected have been accessed by hackers. So, is there any way to keep your system secure when you go online?
One piece of advice you’ll hear again and again, is that you must get a firewall. This is certainly a good idea, but there are so many myths in this area, that it can be difficult to figure out why. Who is most at risk online? Is going online via an ADSL connection more insecure than using a modem? Once you’ve installed a firewall, does this mean you’re safe? And what exactly does a firewall do, anyway?
Port to port
Before you can understand how to restrict your PC’s access to the Internet, you first need to know how it works normally, so let’s begin with a little theory.
The Internet is normally associated with Web pages, but it offers plenty of other services: POP3 and SMTP email, Usenet, FTP and Telnet are well-known examples (see www.networkice.com/advice/Exploits/Ports/ for a full list), and there’s nothing to stop a single computer providing all of these features.
To help keep things organised, each service is normally allocated to a different port on the server. This isn’t a physical feature of the computer, like a serial port – it’s just a number contained within every packet of data the server receives. Each service looks for its own port identifier, and handles any incoming information that belongs to it.
Such flexibility is useful, but not something the average user cares about – they just want to run their FTP or news program, and see it work correctly. To make this happen, most services use standard port numbers: FTP is 21, HTTP uses 80, NNTP news servers default to 119, and so on. Your browser and other Internet applications know which ports to use, and so everything works automatically.
Still, some servers do use alternative ports. You may have seen when this happens on a site, as the URL has a colon, followed by the new port number at the end of the address: www.bigsite.com:8080/downloads/.
The chances are you don’t have a Web server at home, of course, but that doesn’t matter. Your PC makes use of ports, too, and whenever you go online they’re accessible to everyone else on the Internet. This could make your PC and data available to any passing hacker, but what are the actual risks?
Port scans
Despite the constant scare stories, it’s really very difficult for someone else on the Internet to hack into your PC. Their first challenge is just to find you. When you go online, your ISP will almost certainly allocate you a different IP address (your unique location on the Internet) every time. Any hacker then only has the duration of that single Internet session to penetrate your defences, or see all their work go to waste.
You’ll almost certainly have read dire warnings about how this doesn’t apply to broadband connections. Get ADSL, you’re told, and its ‘always-on’ connection means that hackers can be hammering at your PC 24 hours a day. Fortunately, this simply isn’t true. While you can pay extra for a static IP address, the standard BT ADSL connection provides a dynamic address, giving you similar protection to a normal modem user.
Good news? Yes, but you’re still potentially at risk for the time you’re online. A hacker will typically use an automated port-scanning tool to check a wide range of IP addresses, sending a message to the key ports on each system, and examining the responses (if any) for potential vulnerabilities.
The best way to protect yourself is to see the type of information your PC is currently giving out, and there are plenty of Web sites that offer to do just that. We particularly like Sygates free online scanning service (scan.sygatetech.com) for its detailed reports, and HackerWatch (www.hackerwatch.org/probe) for its in-depth tests, while BlackCode (www.blackcode.com) allows more experienced users to scan a particular range of ports. Interpreting the results can be difficult, though, unless you know what to look for.
Who’s at risk?
One problem with most online port-scanning sites is they tend to over-dramatise their results. Typically you’ll be told that having port 139 (Windows NetBIOS file and printer sharing) open leaves your entire hard disk open to other Internet users, for example.
However, if your PC isn’t connected to a network, then you probably won’t have file and printer sharing installed (select Network in Control Panel, to check). In this case, there’s nothing listening at port 139, and it’s not possible for an external hacker to use it to access your hard drive.
Networked PCs are at more risk, but even here hackers can only access folders you’ve chosen to share (which is why it’s a good idea to share individual folders like ‘My Documents’, rather than your entire PC). And they’ll only be able to do this if you’ve forgotten to password-protect each share, or used a password that’s very easy to guess. (For lots more helpful information on NetBIOS, see the Navas Group page at cable-dsl.home.att.net/netbios.htm).
Although scanning sites target lots of other ports on your PC, the risks are very limited. Hackers can send all the messages they like, but unless you have an application running that’s listening to the targeted ports – a Web or FTP server, say – they can’t get any kind of access to your system.
So, a standard Windows 98 system is likely to be very safe when online, and even a networked PC can be strongly protected, simply by making use of security features that already exist in the operating system. Adding a firewall is still advisable, though, as a look at one of the more popular examples will make clear.
ZoneAlarm
A firewall is a system (either software, or hardware based) that monitors your PC’s network and Internet traffic, and decides whether it should be allowed through, or blocked. Typical personal firewalls allow you to increase your online security, by closing all but the most essential ports. They can also protect against ‘denial of service’ attacks, where other people online might send a huge number of messages to a particular port, in an effort to crash your machine or disrupt your Internet connection. Visit the firewall FAQ (www.faqs.org/faqs/firewalls-faq) for more info.
ZoneAlarm (www.zonelabs.com) may not be the most configurable product around, but a combination of simplicity and price (it’s free for personal use) make it a very good choice for your first firewall.
After a straightforward installation, you’ll find the program pops up every time you launch an application that wants to access your Internet connection (browser, FTP program, email software, whatever it might be), and asks if you want to allow this. This can be tiresome, initially, but you can instruct ZoneAlarm not to ask you again for your main Internet programs, and it soon quietens down.
Why does it do this? Well, you may have accidentally installed a Trojan. These unpleasant programs masquerade as something useful, perhaps a game or utility, but in fact they have a more sinister function.
If you’re unlucky enough to install SubSeven, for example, then a remote user could be able to use your computer as though they were sitting in front of it: use programs, browse files (all of them, regardless of network shares), take screen shots, capture your keypresses, almost anything they want. (See http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/ve...r.subseven.html for the scary details).
Trojans beat even viruses for sheer nastiness, but in order for them to work, they need to be able to communicate with the outside world. After distributing them, perhaps as executable binary attachments in newsgroups, the authors will run an automated detection tool. This scans the port used by the Trojan, across a wide range of IP addresses; if you’re online at the time, and infected, then the Trojan sends a response, and the hacker will probably be able to take over your system.
Unless, that is, your PC has a firewall. If your system has something like ZoneAlarm installed, the firewall will block the suspicious port scan (and let you know it’s happened), so the Trojan never gets activated. Even if that level of security failed, you would still be warned if the Trojan tried to send any information about your PC to its creator. Good news, then – but you need to be careful about how you interpret your firewalls’ alerts.
Tracking hackers
Install a firewall, then spend some time online, and you’ll quickly find yourself alerted to suspect port scans, perhaps as many as one an hour. Beginners usually interpret this as a dangerous attack, and post enthusiastic newsgroup messages about how their firewall has saved them from hacker hell – but is this really true?
If the port scan was an attempt to activate a Trojan, for example, then it could only ever have any effect if you happened to have the Trojan installed on your PC. Firewalls offer some protection against that eventuality, but it’s not particularly difficult to bypass them (see keir.net/firehole.html and tooleaky.zensoft.com for some worrying examples). The best idea is not to get infected by malicious software in the first place, so there’s still a place for Trojan detectors like PestPatrol (www.safersite.com).
Deciding whether other port scans are malicious or not is notoriously difficult. A bunch of alerts that occur as soon as you log on, for example, could occur because a Web site is trying to send information to the last user of your IP address.
Some mail or news server configurations can provoke your firewall into thinking something sinister is going on, as can plenty of other standard ISP and network activities. So what should you do when your firewall reports an attack? One approach it to try and figure out what’s going on for yourself. Tools like Visual Route (www.visualware.com/visualroute/index.html, and on this month’s CD) offer a great way to determine where a particular IP address is located, and you can use a Web site like Sam Spade (www.samspade.org) to figure out the attackers ISP. Send them an email, and they’ll take it from there. Be polite, though – IP addresses can be faked, and even if it is genuine, the system carrying out the port scan might itself have been hacked via a Trojan.
A simpler alternative is to send your firewall logs to a site like My NetWatchman (www.mynetwatchman.com) or DShield (www.dshield.org). These companies accept firewall reports from users all over the Net, strip out the false alarms, and forward the most serious cases on to the ISP from which the attacks originated (at no charge to you). An ISP is far more likely to be interested in a collection of 1,000 reports, than one, so if you feel like fighting back against the hackers and script kiddies, this could be the way to go.
Stay alert
It’s very easy to be complacent about your online security. And it’s dangerous, too. Some people are, to put it mildly, overly trusting. They don’t bother with anti-virus software because ‘there’s not that much risk really’, and think that hackers will leave their PC alone because ‘they only target big companies’. Their luck has held out so far, and so they think it always will.
At the other end of the spectrum, you’ll find a rather more paranoid group. These folks believe that going online is a supremely dangerous activity, where evil cookies track your every movement, malicious Web sites steal personal information, and hackers are waiting to format your hard drive at the drop of a hat. Worse still, they think that installing a firewall offers a total solution, leaving them invulnerable to Trojans or similar threats.
The best approach is to find a way between these two extremes; the Net isn’t entirely safe, but it’s not as dangerous as some people suggest, either. So read up on the risks. Check out a security site occasionally (net-security.org or www.securityfocus.com are good places to start). Visit a site containing the type of tools hackers might use (like www.thenewbiesarea.com), so you can learn more about the potential dangers. And make sure you install a firewall, but remember – this is just the first step in making yourself secure online, and not the last
Viruses, trojans, script kiddies, denial-of-service attacks – the Internet can be a dangerous place for the unwary. Even big companies aren’t immune, with regular embarrassing stories about how credit card numbers (or other personal information) they’ve collected have been accessed by hackers. So, is there any way to keep your system secure when you go online?
One piece of advice you’ll hear again and again, is that you must get a firewall. This is certainly a good idea, but there are so many myths in this area, that it can be difficult to figure out why. Who is most at risk online? Is going online via an ADSL connection more insecure than using a modem? Once you’ve installed a firewall, does this mean you’re safe? And what exactly does a firewall do, anyway?
Port to port
Before you can understand how to restrict your PC’s access to the Internet, you first need to know how it works normally, so let’s begin with a little theory.
The Internet is normally associated with Web pages, but it offers plenty of other services: POP3 and SMTP email, Usenet, FTP and Telnet are well-known examples (see www.networkice.com/advice/Exploits/Ports/ for a full list), and there’s nothing to stop a single computer providing all of these features.
To help keep things organised, each service is normally allocated to a different port on the server. This isn’t a physical feature of the computer, like a serial port – it’s just a number contained within every packet of data the server receives. Each service looks for its own port identifier, and handles any incoming information that belongs to it.
Such flexibility is useful, but not something the average user cares about – they just want to run their FTP or news program, and see it work correctly. To make this happen, most services use standard port numbers: FTP is 21, HTTP uses 80, NNTP news servers default to 119, and so on. Your browser and other Internet applications know which ports to use, and so everything works automatically.
Still, some servers do use alternative ports. You may have seen when this happens on a site, as the URL has a colon, followed by the new port number at the end of the address: www.bigsite.com:8080/downloads/.
The chances are you don’t have a Web server at home, of course, but that doesn’t matter. Your PC makes use of ports, too, and whenever you go online they’re accessible to everyone else on the Internet. This could make your PC and data available to any passing hacker, but what are the actual risks?
Port scans
Despite the constant scare stories, it’s really very difficult for someone else on the Internet to hack into your PC. Their first challenge is just to find you. When you go online, your ISP will almost certainly allocate you a different IP address (your unique location on the Internet) every time. Any hacker then only has the duration of that single Internet session to penetrate your defences, or see all their work go to waste.
You’ll almost certainly have read dire warnings about how this doesn’t apply to broadband connections. Get ADSL, you’re told, and its ‘always-on’ connection means that hackers can be hammering at your PC 24 hours a day. Fortunately, this simply isn’t true. While you can pay extra for a static IP address, the standard BT ADSL connection provides a dynamic address, giving you similar protection to a normal modem user.
Good news? Yes, but you’re still potentially at risk for the time you’re online. A hacker will typically use an automated port-scanning tool to check a wide range of IP addresses, sending a message to the key ports on each system, and examining the responses (if any) for potential vulnerabilities.
The best way to protect yourself is to see the type of information your PC is currently giving out, and there are plenty of Web sites that offer to do just that. We particularly like Sygates free online scanning service (scan.sygatetech.com) for its detailed reports, and HackerWatch (www.hackerwatch.org/probe) for its in-depth tests, while BlackCode (www.blackcode.com) allows more experienced users to scan a particular range of ports. Interpreting the results can be difficult, though, unless you know what to look for.
Who’s at risk?
One problem with most online port-scanning sites is they tend to over-dramatise their results. Typically you’ll be told that having port 139 (Windows NetBIOS file and printer sharing) open leaves your entire hard disk open to other Internet users, for example.
However, if your PC isn’t connected to a network, then you probably won’t have file and printer sharing installed (select Network in Control Panel, to check). In this case, there’s nothing listening at port 139, and it’s not possible for an external hacker to use it to access your hard drive.
Networked PCs are at more risk, but even here hackers can only access folders you’ve chosen to share (which is why it’s a good idea to share individual folders like ‘My Documents’, rather than your entire PC). And they’ll only be able to do this if you’ve forgotten to password-protect each share, or used a password that’s very easy to guess. (For lots more helpful information on NetBIOS, see the Navas Group page at cable-dsl.home.att.net/netbios.htm).
Although scanning sites target lots of other ports on your PC, the risks are very limited. Hackers can send all the messages they like, but unless you have an application running that’s listening to the targeted ports – a Web or FTP server, say – they can’t get any kind of access to your system.
So, a standard Windows 98 system is likely to be very safe when online, and even a networked PC can be strongly protected, simply by making use of security features that already exist in the operating system. Adding a firewall is still advisable, though, as a look at one of the more popular examples will make clear.
ZoneAlarm
A firewall is a system (either software, or hardware based) that monitors your PC’s network and Internet traffic, and decides whether it should be allowed through, or blocked. Typical personal firewalls allow you to increase your online security, by closing all but the most essential ports. They can also protect against ‘denial of service’ attacks, where other people online might send a huge number of messages to a particular port, in an effort to crash your machine or disrupt your Internet connection. Visit the firewall FAQ (www.faqs.org/faqs/firewalls-faq) for more info.
ZoneAlarm (www.zonelabs.com) may not be the most configurable product around, but a combination of simplicity and price (it’s free for personal use) make it a very good choice for your first firewall.
After a straightforward installation, you’ll find the program pops up every time you launch an application that wants to access your Internet connection (browser, FTP program, email software, whatever it might be), and asks if you want to allow this. This can be tiresome, initially, but you can instruct ZoneAlarm not to ask you again for your main Internet programs, and it soon quietens down.
Why does it do this? Well, you may have accidentally installed a Trojan. These unpleasant programs masquerade as something useful, perhaps a game or utility, but in fact they have a more sinister function.
If you’re unlucky enough to install SubSeven, for example, then a remote user could be able to use your computer as though they were sitting in front of it: use programs, browse files (all of them, regardless of network shares), take screen shots, capture your keypresses, almost anything they want. (See http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/ve...r.subseven.html for the scary details).
Trojans beat even viruses for sheer nastiness, but in order for them to work, they need to be able to communicate with the outside world. After distributing them, perhaps as executable binary attachments in newsgroups, the authors will run an automated detection tool. This scans the port used by the Trojan, across a wide range of IP addresses; if you’re online at the time, and infected, then the Trojan sends a response, and the hacker will probably be able to take over your system.
Unless, that is, your PC has a firewall. If your system has something like ZoneAlarm installed, the firewall will block the suspicious port scan (and let you know it’s happened), so the Trojan never gets activated. Even if that level of security failed, you would still be warned if the Trojan tried to send any information about your PC to its creator. Good news, then – but you need to be careful about how you interpret your firewalls’ alerts.
Tracking hackers
Install a firewall, then spend some time online, and you’ll quickly find yourself alerted to suspect port scans, perhaps as many as one an hour. Beginners usually interpret this as a dangerous attack, and post enthusiastic newsgroup messages about how their firewall has saved them from hacker hell – but is this really true?
If the port scan was an attempt to activate a Trojan, for example, then it could only ever have any effect if you happened to have the Trojan installed on your PC. Firewalls offer some protection against that eventuality, but it’s not particularly difficult to bypass them (see keir.net/firehole.html and tooleaky.zensoft.com for some worrying examples). The best idea is not to get infected by malicious software in the first place, so there’s still a place for Trojan detectors like PestPatrol (www.safersite.com).
Deciding whether other port scans are malicious or not is notoriously difficult. A bunch of alerts that occur as soon as you log on, for example, could occur because a Web site is trying to send information to the last user of your IP address.
Some mail or news server configurations can provoke your firewall into thinking something sinister is going on, as can plenty of other standard ISP and network activities. So what should you do when your firewall reports an attack? One approach it to try and figure out what’s going on for yourself. Tools like Visual Route (www.visualware.com/visualroute/index.html, and on this month’s CD) offer a great way to determine where a particular IP address is located, and you can use a Web site like Sam Spade (www.samspade.org) to figure out the attackers ISP. Send them an email, and they’ll take it from there. Be polite, though – IP addresses can be faked, and even if it is genuine, the system carrying out the port scan might itself have been hacked via a Trojan.
A simpler alternative is to send your firewall logs to a site like My NetWatchman (www.mynetwatchman.com) or DShield (www.dshield.org). These companies accept firewall reports from users all over the Net, strip out the false alarms, and forward the most serious cases on to the ISP from which the attacks originated (at no charge to you). An ISP is far more likely to be interested in a collection of 1,000 reports, than one, so if you feel like fighting back against the hackers and script kiddies, this could be the way to go.
Stay alert
It’s very easy to be complacent about your online security. And it’s dangerous, too. Some people are, to put it mildly, overly trusting. They don’t bother with anti-virus software because ‘there’s not that much risk really’, and think that hackers will leave their PC alone because ‘they only target big companies’. Their luck has held out so far, and so they think it always will.
At the other end of the spectrum, you’ll find a rather more paranoid group. These folks believe that going online is a supremely dangerous activity, where evil cookies track your every movement, malicious Web sites steal personal information, and hackers are waiting to format your hard drive at the drop of a hat. Worse still, they think that installing a firewall offers a total solution, leaving them invulnerable to Trojans or similar threats.
The best approach is to find a way between these two extremes; the Net isn’t entirely safe, but it’s not as dangerous as some people suggest, either. So read up on the risks. Check out a security site occasionally (net-security.org or www.securityfocus.com are good places to start). Visit a site containing the type of tools hackers might use (like www.thenewbiesarea.com), so you can learn more about the potential dangers. And make sure you install a firewall, but remember – this is just the first step in making yourself secure online, and not the last
Wednesday, November 09, 2005
Image Hosting Sites
Image Hosting.....
Some sites that you can upload your pictures to......
No Registration Required.......
/http://putfile.com/ ...File size limit 1 MB
/http://www.uploadimages.net/index.php ...File size limit 1 MB
/http://www.imagetown.net ....File size limit 1 MB
/http://www.imghost.us ...File size limit 1 MB
/http://www.imagehop.com/upload.php...File size limit 1 MB
/http://paintedover.com...File size limit 1.5 MB *THUMBS AVAILABLE*
/http://www.pichold.com/index2.php...File size limit 1000 kb
/http://www.imageshack.us/index.php ...File size limit 850 kb
/http://www.image-upload.com ...File size limit 850 kb
/http://pics.xs.to ...File size limit 750 Kb
/http://www.imgspot.com ...File size limit 650 kb
/http://www.spaceavenue.com/images ...File size limit 650 Kb
/http://www.savefile.com ...File size limit 600 kb - All file types
/http://www.filenote.com ...File size limit 500 kb
/http://www.uploadyourimages.com ...File size limit 500 kb
/http://www.imageark.net ...File size limit 500 kb
/http://imagehost.bizhat.com ...File size limit 400 kb
/http://imagehost.5gigs.com ...File size limit 100 kb
/http://www.glowfoto.com/ .......File limit size 1 MB *THUMBS AVAILABLE* - Resizes Large Images
/http://www.imagevenue.com
/http://www.uploadtemple.com/ .....File Types: All file types except for .php,mp3
Max Size per File: 30.00 MB
/http://www.uploadthis.com/images/image_uploader.php ...File size limit 1.3 MB
/http://www.theimagehosting.com ...File size limit 1 MB *THUMBS AVAILABLE*
Signup required...
/http://www.photopeg.com ...File size limit 1 MB
/http://www.imagebay.org ...File size limit 1 MB
/http://www.myonlineimages.com ...File size limit 500 kb
/http://www.villagephotos.com
/http://www.photobucket.com
/http://www.uploadit.org/members
Some sites that you can upload your pictures to......
No Registration Required.......
/http://putfile.com/ ...File size limit 1 MB
/http://www.uploadimages.net/index.php ...File size limit 1 MB
/http://www.imagetown.net ....File size limit 1 MB
/http://www.imghost.us ...File size limit 1 MB
/http://www.imagehop.com/upload.php...File size limit 1 MB
/http://paintedover.com...File size limit 1.5 MB *THUMBS AVAILABLE*
/http://www.pichold.com/index2.php...File size limit 1000 kb
/http://www.imageshack.us/index.php ...File size limit 850 kb
/http://www.image-upload.com ...File size limit 850 kb
/http://pics.xs.to ...File size limit 750 Kb
/http://www.imgspot.com ...File size limit 650 kb
/http://www.spaceavenue.com/images ...File size limit 650 Kb
/http://www.savefile.com ...File size limit 600 kb - All file types
/http://www.filenote.com ...File size limit 500 kb
/http://www.uploadyourimages.com ...File size limit 500 kb
/http://www.imageark.net ...File size limit 500 kb
/http://imagehost.bizhat.com ...File size limit 400 kb
/http://imagehost.5gigs.com ...File size limit 100 kb
/http://www.glowfoto.com/ .......File limit size 1 MB *THUMBS AVAILABLE* - Resizes Large Images
/http://www.imagevenue.com
/http://www.uploadtemple.com/ .....File Types: All file types except for .php,mp3
Max Size per File: 30.00 MB
/http://www.uploadthis.com/images/image_uploader.php ...File size limit 1.3 MB
/http://www.theimagehosting.com ...File size limit 1 MB *THUMBS AVAILABLE*
Signup required...
/http://www.photopeg.com ...File size limit 1 MB
/http://www.imagebay.org ...File size limit 1 MB
/http://www.myonlineimages.com ...File size limit 500 kb
/http://www.villagephotos.com
/http://www.photobucket.com
/http://www.uploadit.org/members
Tweak your own PC!, Increase your DL 20%
Windows XP uses 20% of your bandwidth !
Microsoft reserve 20% of your available bandwidth for their own purposes (suspect for updates and interrogating your machine etc..)
Here's how to get it back:
Click Start-->Run-->type "gpedit.msc" without the "
This opens the group policy editor. Then go to:
Local Computer Policy-->Computer Configuration-->Administrative Templates-->Network-->QOS Packet Scheduler-->Limit Reservable Bandwidth
Double click on Limit Reservable bandwidth. It will say it is not configured, but the truth is under the 'Explain' tab :
"By default, the Packet Scheduler limits the system to 20 percent of the bandwidth of a connection, but you can use this setting to override the default."
So the trick is to ENABLE reservable bandwidth, then set it to ZERO. This will allow the system to reserve nothing, rather than the default 20%.
Works on XP Pro and 2000.
Topic taken from PUZO forums, but I thought it was worth the post so here ya go. Oh BTW, this gpedit.msc is another great way to tweak pc without having to use outside tools. But be careful and read the information bars before you make any changes.
Microsoft reserve 20% of your available bandwidth for their own purposes (suspect for updates and interrogating your machine etc..)
Here's how to get it back:
Click Start-->Run-->type "gpedit.msc" without the "
This opens the group policy editor. Then go to:
Local Computer Policy-->Computer Configuration-->Administrative Templates-->Network-->QOS Packet Scheduler-->Limit Reservable Bandwidth
Double click on Limit Reservable bandwidth. It will say it is not configured, but the truth is under the 'Explain' tab :
"By default, the Packet Scheduler limits the system to 20 percent of the bandwidth of a connection, but you can use this setting to override the default."
So the trick is to ENABLE reservable bandwidth, then set it to ZERO. This will allow the system to reserve nothing, rather than the default 20%.
Works on XP Pro and 2000.
Topic taken from PUZO forums, but I thought it was worth the post so here ya go. Oh BTW, this gpedit.msc is another great way to tweak pc without having to use outside tools. But be careful and read the information bars before you make any changes.
Hide Your IP Address - A Tutorial
Hide Your IP Address - A Tutorial
Whoever you are, anonymity is your right!
With proxy server u can hide your IP on the net. Which means while u r posting on a forum, sending a email, chatting with someone and whatnot, your real IP will not be revealed. Follow the steps to do the same
1. Go to http://www.proxy4free.com/page1.html and Copy any IP with high anonymity along with its port number.
2. Open Internet explorer > Tools > Internet Options > Connections Tab > Lan Settings > Check the box which says "Use a Proxy Server for your LAN......"
3. Paste the IP in the Address field and Port in the Port field
4. OK
5. Apply
6. OK
Now to verify if your proxy server is working or not Go to
http://www.whatismyipaddress.com/ and check your IP, if you are unble to open any sites, then your proxy server is dead. In that case choose another proxy from http://www.proxy4free.com/page1.html
Hope that was useful.
Whoever you are, anonymity is your right!
With proxy server u can hide your IP on the net. Which means while u r posting on a forum, sending a email, chatting with someone and whatnot, your real IP will not be revealed. Follow the steps to do the same
1. Go to http://www.proxy4free.com/page1.html and Copy any IP with high anonymity along with its port number.
2. Open Internet explorer > Tools > Internet Options > Connections Tab > Lan Settings > Check the box which says "Use a Proxy Server for your LAN......"
3. Paste the IP in the Address field and Port in the Port field
4. OK
5. Apply
6. OK
Now to verify if your proxy server is working or not Go to
http://www.whatismyipaddress.com/ and check your IP, if you are unble to open any sites, then your proxy server is dead. In that case choose another proxy from http://www.proxy4free.com/page1.html
Hope that was useful.
Tips For Safe Online Chatting, almost safe
Tips For Safe Online Chatting
1. Position the computer in your main living space and make sure the monitor faces OUTWARD into the room so there is no secrecy. This is the single MOST valuable thing you can do for your child's health and safety online.
2. Work as a team to set your boundaries. Discuss with your child exactly what is OK and what is not OK regarding what kind of Web sites are appropriate for them to visit, which chat rooms to visit and what kinds of things to talk about there. Set logical consequences for when your child disregards your rules (like grounded from the Internet for 1 week), but do NOT threaten to ban the Internet forever.
3. Stress to your child that they need to tell you if they get any weird or upsetting messages while chatting, and that you will not be angry with them nor will you ban the Internet as a result. Make it clear to the child that you understand that the child cannot control what other people say to him or her and that they are not to blame if this happens.
4. Set strict time limits for Internet chat use and enforce them. Internet addiction is a real thing!
5. Make it clear to your child that people in chat rooms are ALWAYS strangers, no matter how often they chat to them, and no matter how well they think they know them, and that while they may be good or bad people, they are still strangers. Your child should therefore not always believe everything people say in chat rooms.
6. Make sure your child understands that they are never to tell a person online their real name, their school, their phone number or where they live.
7. Do not permit your child to be left alone in cyberspace for long periods of time - this is when they are most vulnerable. Make sure that their chat time occurs when YOU are around in the house so that you can check in on them regularly.
8. Be sure to stress to your child that they are to behave politely and respectfully at all times while chatting online with strangers or sending email to friends.
9. Don't panic! No one can harm your child through the Internet as long as your child follows your rules.
10. Take an active interest in your child's activity online. Do NOT use the Internet as a babysitter! Learn to surf the Web and chat online yourself so you understand what it is that your child is doing. If you don't know how to chat online, ask your child to teach you!
1. Position the computer in your main living space and make sure the monitor faces OUTWARD into the room so there is no secrecy. This is the single MOST valuable thing you can do for your child's health and safety online.
2. Work as a team to set your boundaries. Discuss with your child exactly what is OK and what is not OK regarding what kind of Web sites are appropriate for them to visit, which chat rooms to visit and what kinds of things to talk about there. Set logical consequences for when your child disregards your rules (like grounded from the Internet for 1 week), but do NOT threaten to ban the Internet forever.
3. Stress to your child that they need to tell you if they get any weird or upsetting messages while chatting, and that you will not be angry with them nor will you ban the Internet as a result. Make it clear to the child that you understand that the child cannot control what other people say to him or her and that they are not to blame if this happens.
4. Set strict time limits for Internet chat use and enforce them. Internet addiction is a real thing!
5. Make it clear to your child that people in chat rooms are ALWAYS strangers, no matter how often they chat to them, and no matter how well they think they know them, and that while they may be good or bad people, they are still strangers. Your child should therefore not always believe everything people say in chat rooms.
6. Make sure your child understands that they are never to tell a person online their real name, their school, their phone number or where they live.
7. Do not permit your child to be left alone in cyberspace for long periods of time - this is when they are most vulnerable. Make sure that their chat time occurs when YOU are around in the house so that you can check in on them regularly.
8. Be sure to stress to your child that they are to behave politely and respectfully at all times while chatting online with strangers or sending email to friends.
9. Don't panic! No one can harm your child through the Internet as long as your child follows your rules.
10. Take an active interest in your child's activity online. Do NOT use the Internet as a babysitter! Learn to surf the Web and chat online yourself so you understand what it is that your child is doing. If you don't know how to chat online, ask your child to teach you!
General FTP Errors Explained
Q) How do I use FTP Links?
A) Though most browsers that are relatively new will handle them alright, we recommend downloading a standalone FTP Client. Try CuteFTP
Q) What do I do with RAR and ISO Files?
A) RAR files and ISO files are both extractable archives. You can extract them both with WinRAR, which is what we recommend. There are other programs that will do the same though, including WinISO.
Q) The Link isn't working! I get an Error 421 when I try to connect!
A) When connecting to an FTP server, an error 421 means that there are currently too many users connected.
This means that the link is indeed working, but that you must wait for someone to disconnect. You must get very lucky to connect to a heavily trafficked server like this.
Q) The Link isn't working! It says '404 - File Not Found'
A) Sometimes, files are taken off the server after they are being hosted.
If you encounter a dead link you can report the link to a moderator, and the topic will be closed.
Q) The Link isn't working! I get an Error 331 when I try to connect!
A) It means the link you clicked did not provide a password. If the thread poster does not specify the password, I'm afraid you are out of luck... Unless you have some hacking skills
Here is a complete list of the various FTP error codes.
331 User name okay, need password.
332 Need account for login.
350 Requested file action pending further information.
404 File Not Found
421 Service not available, closing control connection, too many users
425 Can't open data connection.
426 Connection closed, transfer aborted.
450 Requested file action not taken. File unavailable (e.g., file busy).
451 Requested action aborted, local error in processing.
452 Requested action not taken. Insufficient storage space in system.
500 Syntax error, command unrecognized.
501 Syntax error in parameters or arguments.
502 Command not implemented.
503 Bad sequence of commands.
504 Command not implemented for that parameter.
530 User not logged in.
532 Need account for storing files.
550 Requested action not taken. File unavailable (e.g., file not found, no access).
552 Requested file action aborted, storage allocation exceeded
553 Requested action not taken. Illegal file name.
Hope this helps..
A) Though most browsers that are relatively new will handle them alright, we recommend downloading a standalone FTP Client. Try CuteFTP
Q) What do I do with RAR and ISO Files?
A) RAR files and ISO files are both extractable archives. You can extract them both with WinRAR, which is what we recommend. There are other programs that will do the same though, including WinISO.
Q) The Link isn't working! I get an Error 421 when I try to connect!
A) When connecting to an FTP server, an error 421 means that there are currently too many users connected.
This means that the link is indeed working, but that you must wait for someone to disconnect. You must get very lucky to connect to a heavily trafficked server like this.
Q) The Link isn't working! It says '404 - File Not Found'
A) Sometimes, files are taken off the server after they are being hosted.
If you encounter a dead link you can report the link to a moderator, and the topic will be closed.
Q) The Link isn't working! I get an Error 331 when I try to connect!
A) It means the link you clicked did not provide a password. If the thread poster does not specify the password, I'm afraid you are out of luck... Unless you have some hacking skills
Here is a complete list of the various FTP error codes.
331 User name okay, need password.
332 Need account for login.
350 Requested file action pending further information.
404 File Not Found
421 Service not available, closing control connection, too many users
425 Can't open data connection.
426 Connection closed, transfer aborted.
450 Requested file action not taken. File unavailable (e.g., file busy).
451 Requested action aborted, local error in processing.
452 Requested action not taken. Insufficient storage space in system.
500 Syntax error, command unrecognized.
501 Syntax error in parameters or arguments.
502 Command not implemented.
503 Bad sequence of commands.
504 Command not implemented for that parameter.
530 User not logged in.
532 Need account for storing files.
550 Requested action not taken. File unavailable (e.g., file not found, no access).
552 Requested file action aborted, storage allocation exceeded
553 Requested action not taken. Illegal file name.
Hope this helps..
HOW TO Change Windows XP Home to Windows XP Pro
HOW TO Change Windows XP Home to Windows XP Pro
We can’t vouch for this hack, because we are too lazy to try it (and we never, ever violate copyrights or EULAs), but kind reader Martin explains the process for turning an Windows XP Home install disc to a Windows XP Pro disc after the jump.
It sounds pretty simple to do (just some registry changes), but you can’t install Service Pack 2, so you might try to slipstream in the changes to your modified install disc (if that’s even possible).
Alternately, buy XP Pro, or get a Mac.
yes indeed, you can’t change an installed Windows but only your Installation CD (or even a recovery CD in case the manufacturer had not left out important parts)
Here’s the detailed breakdown you asked for.
1. Copy the root directory and the i386 directory of the WindowsXP CD
to your harddisk
2. Extract the Bootsector of your WindowsXP CD
3. Change 2 Bytes in i386\Setupreg.hiv :
a) Open Regedit
b) Highlight HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
c) Menu: File -> Load Structure -> i386\Setupreg.hiv
d) Assign an arbitrary name to the imported structure e.g. “Homekey”
e) Goto HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Homekey\ControlSet001\Services\setupdd
f) edit the binary key “default” and change “01” to “00” and “02” to
“00”
g) Highlight “Homekey” and select menu: File -> unload structure
4. Burn your new XP Pro CD
5. Install WindowsXP as usual. Your XP Home Key will work.
Note: You cannot apply SP2 to such a WindowsXP Pro, so step 1.b)
might be to integrate SP2 in your Installation CD
Please check the menu-entries as I don’t owe an English copy of
XP and have to guess them.
We can’t vouch for this hack, because we are too lazy to try it (and we never, ever violate copyrights or EULAs), but kind reader Martin explains the process for turning an Windows XP Home install disc to a Windows XP Pro disc after the jump.
It sounds pretty simple to do (just some registry changes), but you can’t install Service Pack 2, so you might try to slipstream in the changes to your modified install disc (if that’s even possible).
Alternately, buy XP Pro, or get a Mac.
yes indeed, you can’t change an installed Windows but only your Installation CD (or even a recovery CD in case the manufacturer had not left out important parts)
Here’s the detailed breakdown you asked for.
1. Copy the root directory and the i386 directory of the WindowsXP CD
to your harddisk
2. Extract the Bootsector of your WindowsXP CD
3. Change 2 Bytes in i386\Setupreg.hiv :
a) Open Regedit
b) Highlight HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
c) Menu: File -> Load Structure -> i386\Setupreg.hiv
d) Assign an arbitrary name to the imported structure e.g. “Homekey”
e) Goto HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Homekey\ControlSet001\Services\setupdd
f) edit the binary key “default” and change “01” to “00” and “02” to
“00”
g) Highlight “Homekey” and select menu: File -> unload structure
4. Burn your new XP Pro CD
5. Install WindowsXP as usual. Your XP Home Key will work.
Note: You cannot apply SP2 to such a WindowsXP Pro, so step 1.b)
might be to integrate SP2 in your Installation CD
Please check the menu-entries as I don’t owe an English copy of
XP and have to guess them.
Monday, November 07, 2005
Jai Maharashtra
A cricket match was in progress between the Aussies & Indians at
Wankhede Stadium. Bal Thackrey was sitting in the balcony watching it.
He's very happy that the Pakies are not there.
Suddenly Sachin hits a sixer to McGrath and the ball lands up just Next
to Bal Thackrey's seat. McGrath shouts, 'Hey ! Gimme the ball.'
Thackrey shouts back, 'Yey, Marathit bol.'
McGrath doesn't understand a thing & repeats his statement. This gets
the same reply from Thackrey. Now, a security official standing at the
Boundary goes to McGrath & tells him, 'Sir, He is Bal Thackrey.'
Now McGrath is excited, (he has heard about him) and shouts, 'OH! BALL
TAK REY.'
Bal Thackrey is happy and throws the ball back to him.
Jai Maharashtra......
Wankhede Stadium. Bal Thackrey was sitting in the balcony watching it.
He's very happy that the Pakies are not there.
Suddenly Sachin hits a sixer to McGrath and the ball lands up just Next
to Bal Thackrey's seat. McGrath shouts, 'Hey ! Gimme the ball.'
Thackrey shouts back, 'Yey, Marathit bol.'
McGrath doesn't understand a thing & repeats his statement. This gets
the same reply from Thackrey. Now, a security official standing at the
Boundary goes to McGrath & tells him, 'Sir, He is Bal Thackrey.'
Now McGrath is excited, (he has heard about him) and shouts, 'OH! BALL
TAK REY.'
Bal Thackrey is happy and throws the ball back to him.
Jai Maharashtra......
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