Windows 2008 Server Admin Tools

Book Review- Windows Server 2008- Definitive Guide- OReilly

2009-03-25T13:56:00.001-07:00

Read the entire book here for Free. Link

O'reilly does a wonderful job writing books in a logical well organized manner.
For a first edition I was hard pressed to find many obvious mistakes. They did their due diligence.
This book is written for the IT PRO, not someone looking to learn Active Directory or other services in Windows Server 2008 hoping to pass a paper cert test. It's assumed you have a broad understanding of Microsoft's culture and product lines and are looking for a practical review of technologies in 2008.
You don't have to be a AD guru to get a lot out of this book either. I would actually recommend it above Microsoft Press books, because instead of trying to indoctrinate you on a set of "standards" Hassell simply gives you a working set of parts under the hood. He doesn't get caught up on the politics or test taking.
I do not recommend this book as a project management guide to upgrading from 2003 to 2008. This isn't one of "those" books. Instead, it's a good book for someone exploring the idea and reasons for upgrading, by being exposed to what is inside 2008 Server first.
As with almost any O'Reilly book, I think this is a definite buy for your IT library. It's well priced too.

Great Internet Information Service (IIS) 7.0 Resources

2009-03-24T11:31:00.001-07:00

Resources

Internet Information Service (IIS) 7.0 Resources

Technical Resources

IIS Download Center
IIS TechCenter
IIS Events
Windows Server 2008 TechCenter
Windows Server 2008 Technical Library
Changes in Functionality from Windows Server 2003 with SP1 to Windows Server 2008
Windows Server 2008 Release Notes

Webcasts

IIS 7.0 Overview
IIS 7.0 - Writing Custom Modules
The .NET Show: IIS 7.0
Live From Redmond: Getting Started with Microsoft's IIS 7.0
Windows Server 2008: Webcasts
Windows Server 2008 Webcast Express Demo Videos
Events and Webcasts Overview
Windows Server 2008 Virtual Labs
Windows Server 2008 Podcasts
Windows Server 2008 Chats
Windows Server 2008 Webcasts and Chats

Authors' Blogs

Bernard Cheah
Brett Hill
Carlos Aguilar Mares
Steve Schofield
Mike Volodarsy

Communities and Newsgroups

IIS Forums
IIS Blogs
Windows Server 2008 Web Forums
Windows Server Community
Community Centers for Windows Server Technologies
Windows Server Division Weblog

Training and Certification Resources

Windows Server 2008 Learning Portal

Evaluation Resources

Windows Server 2008 Evaluation Software

Windows Administration Resource Kit: Productivity Solutions for IT Professionals

Evaluation Resources

Windows Server 2008 Evaluation Software
Windows Server 2008 Beta Central Windows Server 2008 Resources Page
Windows Server 2008 TechCenter: Evaluate Windows Server 2008
Windows Server 2008 Webcast Express Demo Videos
Windows Server 2008 System Requirements
Windows Server 2008 Datasheet
Windows Server 2008 Frequently Asked Questions

Technical Resources

Windows Server 2008 TechCenter
Windows Server 2008 Technical Library
Changes in Functionality from Windows Server 2003 with SP1 to Windows Server 2008
Windows Server 2008 Release Notes
What's New in Failover Clusters for Windows Server 2008
What's New in Terminal Services for Windows Server 2008
Microsoft SCEP Implementation Whitepaper
Hypervisor Functional Specification
The Encrypting File System
Scripting with Windows PowerShell

TechNet Event Review Webcasts

Server Role Management Windows Server 2008 (Session ITPROADD-201)
Server Core Running a Minimal Windows Server 2008 (Session ITPROADD-202)
UNIX Interoperability in Windows Server 2008 (Session ITPROADD-203)
PKI Enhancement in Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 (Session ITPROADD-204)
Windows Server 2008 Technical Overview Part 1 (Session ITPROADD-300)
Windows Server 2008 Technical Overview Part 2 (Session ITPROADD-301)
Windows Server 2008 Network Access Protection (NAP) Technical Overview (Session ITPROADD-302)
Next Generation Networking with Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 (Session ITPROADD-303)
Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 Branch Office Technology (Session ITPROADD-304)
BitLocker Deployment (Session ITPROADD-305)
Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) in Windows Server 2008 Technical Overview (Session ITPROADD-306)
Windows Server 2008 Terminal Services Technical Overview (Session ITPROADD-400)

Windows Server Update Services Resources

WSUS 3.0 Usability Improvements whitepaper
Step-by-Step: Getting Started with Microsoft Windows Server Update Services 3.0
Release Notes for Microsoft Windows Server Update Services 3.0

Webcasts

Windows Server 2008: Webcasts
Windows Server 2008 Webcast Express Demo Videos
Events and Webcasts Overview
Windows Server 2008 Virtual Labs
Windows Server 2008 Podcasts
Windows Server 2008 Chats
Windows Server 2008 Webcasts and Chats
Windows PowerShell: Next Generation Command Line Scripting (Level 300)

Training and Certification Resources

Windows Server 2008 Learning Portal
General IT Training and Certification Resources

Communities and Newsgroups

Windows Server 2008 Web Forums
Windows Server Community
Community Centers for Windows Server Technologies
Windows Server Division Weblog
ActiveDir.Org

Guides

Windows Server 2008 Networking and Network Access Protection (NAP)

Understanding IPv6, Second Edition

Windows Server 2008 Activation Nightmare

2009-03-19T10:34:00.001-07:00

Piracy is a significant problem that persists worldwide. The Business Software Alliance and market research firm IDC reported in the Global Software Piracy Study ^{^[1]} that 35% of the software installed in 2006 on personal computers (PCs) worldwide was obtained illegally, amounting to nearly $40 billion in global losses due to software piracy. Often, counterfeit copies are bundled with malicious, unwanted code that can lead to system crash, data loss, and even stolen identity, and are difficult to detect.^{^[2]}

Many consumers who end up with a counterfeit copy of Microsoft software are unwitting victims of a crime. They believe they purchased a properly licensed copy and often have documents to back this up, but their copy of Windows or Office is actually not properly licensed.

For these reasons, Microsoft continually invests in technologies and programs to protect its intellectual property, and to help protect its customers from the risks and the hidden costs of running counterfeit software. Throughout this document the term Windows is used to refer both Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008.

Windows Product Activation

All editions and distributions of Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008, including those obtained through a volume license program, are required to complete activation within the first 30 days of using Windows Vista or the first 60 days of using Windows Server 2008. Product activation establishes the relationship between the product key (obtained through appropriate licensing) and a copy of the software on a device to which the licensing rights are applied.^{^[3]} Completing the activation process allows a user continued access to full Windows functionality. After initial installation (or 30 or 60 days after installation depending on the operating system), product activation will be required.

Product activation uses several methods and technologies to help achieve Microsoft’s goals of protecting intellectual property rights by making it easy for users to comply with the terms of the EULA and reducing software piracy.

In order to help customers and partners better understand the technologies used by product activation, and their unobtrusive and anonymous nature, we will outline in this bulletin:

How activation works for Windows acquired through:
1. A computer manufacturer (Original Equipment Manufacturer, or OEM)
2. A retail store (where customers buy “boxed” software product)
3. A volume licensing agreement (customers who acquire their licenses through programs such as Microsoft Open, Enterprise, or Select licensing).
How the hardware hash component of the installation ID is created and the scenarios in which a copy of Windows may have to be re-activated due to a substantial hardware modification.

A Note About Privacy

Protecting our customers’ privacy is very important to Microsoft. Product Activation is built with privacy in mind and is implemented in accordance with a clear privacy policy. Microsoft does not use any information collected through product activation to identify or contact customers.

Product Activation and volume licenses

Volume Activation 2.0 is a configurable solution that helps IT Pros automate and manage the product activation of systems licensed under volume licensing. The benefits of Volume Activation 2.0 include transparent activation experience for the end-users, no need for handling product keys during installation, better protection and management of customer specific license keys, and avoid the risks associated with running non-genuine software.

Multiple activation options are available using two types of customer specific keys: Multiple Activation Key (MAK) and Key Management Service (KMS) key. Multiple Activation Key as the name implies can be used on multiple systems to activate the corresponding system against Microsoft activation service by online, phone or proxy methods. Volume Activation Management Tool (VAMT) available at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=77533 enables proxy activation of systems using Multiple Activation Key. Key Management Service (KMS) enables organizations to perform local activations of systems in a managed environment without connecting them to Microsoft individually. A KMS key is used to enable the Key Management Service on a system controlled by an organization’s system administrator.

Product Activation and new pre-loaded Computers

The majority of customers acquire Windows with the purchase of a new computer, and most new computers pre-loaded with Windows will already be pre-activated. Microsoft provides OEMs with the ability to “pre-activate” Windows in the factory and estimates that upwards of 80% of all new PCs will be delivered to the customer pre-activated.

“Pre-activation” of Windows by the OEMs will be done in one of two different ways depending on the OEM’s own configuration options and choices. Some OEMs may protect Windows using a mechanism which locks the installation to OEM-specified BIOS information in the computer. This technology is an improvement over the existing technology used in Windows XP called “System Locked Pre-installation,” or SLP. The improved product activation technology used in Windows is called “OEM Activation 2.0,” or OA 2.0.

OEM Activation 2.0 uses information stored in an OEM computer’s BIOS and Hard Disk Drive (HDD) to protect the installation from casual piracy. No communication by the end customer to Microsoft is required and no hardware hash is created or necessary. At boot, Windows compares the computer’s BIOS to the OA 2.0 information on the HDD. If it matches, activation is successful.

Every single piece of hardware could be changed on a computer with OA 2.0 and no reactivation would be required – even the motherboard could be replaced as long as the replacement motherboard was original equipment manufactured by the OEM and retained the proper BIOS. In the unlikely scenario that the BIOS information does not match, the computer would need to be activated by contacting the Microsoft activation center and requesting activation with a customer support representative.

OEMs may also activate Windows by contacting Microsoft in the same way the consumer would activate. Activation done in this way is the same as activating a retail boxed version of Windows. This is discussed in more detail below.

For OEMs who do not employ either of the above two methods of pre-activation, a new computer acquired with Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008 preinstalled must be activated by the customer. This activation is completed in the exact same way as would someone who acquired Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008 by purchasing a boxed version at a retailer.

Product Activation and retail boxed software product

Product Activation can be done in two ways; Phone activation and Online Activation.

Phone activation relies on the submission of the Installation ID. The Installation ID is specifically designed to guarantee anonymity and is only used by Microsoft to deter piracy. The Installation ID is comprised of two different pieces of information – the product ID and a short hardware hash value (a hash value is a digital fingerprint of the data that is derived through a mathematical formula, or hash function). The product ID is unique to the installation of Windows and is created from the product key used during installation. Each product key delivered with retail boxed software is unique, and the product ID it creates is unique. Microsoft uses the product ID for product activation. The product ID can be found by viewing the Properties of My Computer (an example of a product ID is 12345-123-1234567-12345).

The short hardware hash value is an eight byte value that is created by running ten different pieces of information from the computer’s hardware components through a one-way mathematical transformation This means that the resultant hash value cannot be backwards calculated to determine the original values. Further, only a portion of the resulting hash value is used in the hardware hash in order to ensure complete anonymity.

Example: A processor serial number is 96 bits in length. When hashed, the resultant one-way hash is 128 bits in length. Microsoft uses only six bits from that resultant hash in activation’s hardware hash. Due to the nature of the hashing algorithm, those six bits cannot be backwards calculated to determine anything at all about the original processor serial number.

Moreover, six bits represent 64 (2^6) different values. There were over 100 million PCs sold last year worldwide. From those 100 million PCs sold, only 64 different hardware hash values could be created as part of activation.

Microsoft developed the hardware hash in this way in order to maintain the user’s privacy.

Additionally, whether or not the PC can be put into a docking station or accepts PCMCIA cards is also determined (the possibility of a docking station or PCMCIA cards existing means that hardware may disappear or seem changed when those devices are not present). Finally, the hardware hash algorithm has a version number. Together with the general nature of the other values used, two different PCs could actually create the same hardware hash. The different hardware values used to create the hash are outlined in the table below:

Table 1: Hardware hash component values (phone activation)

Component Name	Example Hash Value (#of bits)
BIOS ID	000000 (6)
RemovablePolicy (One bit per component; Network Card, CD-ROM, Audio, SCSI, and IDE Adapter)	11111 (5)
Network Adapter MAC Address	1001011000 (10)
CD–ROM / CD-RW / DVD-ROM	0101111 (7)
IDE Adapter	0011 (4)
Audio Adapter	100100 (6)
Physical OS Drive Serial	1101100 (7)
SCSI Adapter	00011 (5)
Display Adapter	00010 (5)
Processor Type	011 (3)
RAM Amount Range (i.e. 0-512mb, 512mb - 1 GB, etc)	101 (3)
“Dockable” flag	011 (3)

The product ID (nine bytes) and hardware hash (eight bytes) are used by Microsoft to process the phone activation request.

Online activation over the internet can be accomplished automatically or manually. During setup the user can select automatic activation, which will result in automatic activation three days after running setup. If the user chooses manual activation, then at some point over the next 30 or 60 days depending on the operating system, the user will need to activate their system by either responding to one of the activation prompts or by invoking the product activation wizard. The product ID information sent to the server is the same as in Phone Activation. But the hardware ID sent during online activation is different. Microsoft collects 2 bytes of hash information from all the hardware instances that are in the table above. Again these 2 bytes of information will not uniquely identify a customer. It is to differentiate between different hardware devices. These two values (product ID and hardware ID (long) are sent along with request header information directly through secure sockets (SSL in HTTP) to the Microsoft activation system in a binary format. There are three communications made to complete Internet activation:

Handshake request: Contains product ID, hardware hash, and request header data such as request ID (for linking the handshake, request, and acknowledgement) and activation technology version. 262 bytes total.
License request: Contains product ID, hardware hash, and customer data structure for holding voluntary registration information if provided. If registration is skipped, this structure is empty. Also contains request header data such as request ID and the PKCS10 digital certificate request structure. The PKCS10 structure can vary slightly based on the inclusion of voluntary registration information; about 2763 to 3000 bytes total.
Acknowledgement request Contains certificate ID (returned to user’s machine after license request), issue date, and error code. 126 bytes total.

If Internet activation is successful, the activation confirmation is sent directly back to the user’s computer as a digital certificate. This certificate is digitally signed by Microsoft so that it cannot be altered or counterfeited. The confirmation packet returned as part of Internet activation is approximately 9 kbytes in size (the digital certificate chain accounts for most of the confirmation data packet size).

If activation is done by telephoning a customer service representative, the product ID and short hardware hash are automatically displayed to the user as the Installation ID; a 50 digit decimal representation. The data is encoded and has check digits so that it cannot be altered. Telephone activation is a four step process:

Selecting the country from which the call is being made so that an appropriate phone number can be shown in the product UI.
Dialing the phone number
Providing the Installation ID to the customer service representative
Entering the Confirmation ID provided by the customer service representative.

The confirmation ID is a 42-digit integer containing the activation key and check digits that aid in error handling. Both the installation ID and confirmation ID are displayed to the user in easily understandable segments in the product UI.

Impact of Hardware Modifications to Activation

At each login, Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008 checks to see that it is running on the same or similar hardware that it was activated on. If it detects that the hardware is “substantially different”, reactivation is required. This check is performed after the OA 2.0 BIOS check discussed above, if the OA 2.0 BIOS check fails. This means that if your computer is pre-activated in the factory using the OA 2.0 pre-activation method, all the components in the computer could be swapped, including the motherboard, so long as the replacement motherboard was genuine and from the OEM with the proper BIOS.

The retail activation hardware check is accomplished by assigning each of the ten hardware elements a weighting factor. The sum of the weighting factors for the unchanged elements must exceed a threshold, otherwise reactivation is required. Microsoft changes the ten weighting factors and threshold value on its product activation servers periodically based on product activation and product support data. These changes on the activation server only impact online activation. Phone activation is still controlled by the weighting factors and threshold values maintained in the Windows client code. For example, the weighting factor for the HDD on Windows XP required the end user to reactivate whenever the HDD was replaced. Product support data showed that many of these reactivations were due to failed hard drives or user initiated upgrade to a higher capacity hard drive. Prior to Windows Vista consumer launch, the HDD weighting factor on the activation servers was reduced slightly to allow the end user to replace the HDD without requiring reactivation.

The actual weighting factors and threshold value are not published by Microsoft, since computer hardware is constantly evolving and real life data is utilized to adjust these values for the best user experience possible, but at the same time protecting Microsoft’s intellectual property by reducing piracy.

Installations of Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008 using Volume Activation are now subject to reactivation if the hardware changes. MAK activation utilizes the same reactivation rules as retail activation. KMS activation only requires reactivation if the HDD has changed.

Scenario A:

Computer One has the full assortment of hardware components listed in Table 1 above. User swaps the CPU chip for an upgraded one, swaps the video adapter, adds a second hard drive for additional storage, doubles the amount of RAM, and swaps the CD ROM drive for a faster one.

Result: Reactivation is NOT required.

Scenario B:

Computer Two has the full assortment of hardware components listed in Table 1 above. The HDD fails and the user replaces the failed drive with a new HDD. The user loads the new HDD from a backup or from the original installation media.

Result: Reactivation is NOT required.

Scenario C:

Computer Three has the full assortment of hardware components listed in Table 1 above. The motherboard fails, and the user is forced to replace the failed motherboard with a new one.

Result: Reactivation is required. Why? Changing the motherboard results in a hardware configuration that is substantially different, since several of the ten hardware elements change when installing a new motherboard.

The change of a single component multiple times (e.g. from video adapter A to video adapter B to video adapter C) is treated as a single change. The addition of components to a computer, such as adding a second hard drive which did not exist during the original activation, would not trigger the need for a reactivation nor would the modification of a component not listed in the above table. Reinstallation of Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008 on the same or similar hardware and a subsequent reactivation can be accomplished five times.

Conclusions

Software piracy is a persistent and evolving crime. Each year, the software industry, businesses, and consumers are harmed by counterfeit software. Microsoft has increased its investments to address this challenge and help to protect businesses and consumers from the risks of counterfeit and unlicensed software. With Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008, a markedly different experience is offered as these operating systems are the first products from Microsoft to take advantage of the Software Protection Platform, an innovative platform from Microsoft that strengthens anti-piracy technologies to help better protect customers and improve the overall licensing experience.

Microsoft is strengthening its commitment to make progress against software piracy with technologies to identify counterfeit software built right in to new software products. Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 have new built-in anti-piracy technologies making it more difficult to pirate, providing a superior experience for customers who do pay, and creating consequences for those who pirate – including diminished functionality if the software is detected to have been tampered with or is counterfeit. A key goal is to maintain a great experience for our customers using genuine software. Another important goal is fairness; we have taken steps to make it easy and convenient for victims of counterfeit to obtain a genuine copy. All in all, Microsoft would like customers to expect fairness, great service, and a positive experience in the implementation of our anti-piracy measures.

[1] See a study of the piracy summary at http://w3.bsa.org/globalstudy/

[2] See a summary or access the complete the white paper at http://www.microsoft.com/protect/promotions/us/wga_idc_us.mspx

[3] Learn more about volume activation at http://www.microsoft.com/technet/volumeactivation

Enable MSMQ On Windows 2008 Server

2009-03-18T13:50:00.001-07:00

Run: ServerManagerCmd.exe -install MSMQ-Services

Enable Microsoft Message Queuing (MSMQ)

Microsoft Message Queuing (MSMQ) technology enables applications running at different times to communicate across heterogeneous networks and systems that may be temporarily offline. MSMQ provides guaranteed message delivery, efficient routing, security, and priority-based messaging. It can be used to implement solutions for both asynchronous and synchronous messaging scenarios.

Enable MSMQ during an unattended installation

There are several ways you can enable MSMQ during an unattended Windows installation by adding the required MSMQ package actions to your answer file.

Create a FirstLogonCommand that runs ServerManagerCmd.exe

For Windows Server 2008, you can create a FirstLogonCommand that runs ServerManagerCmd.exe in your answer file that specifies the proper parameters for configuring MSMQ.

Note

ServerManagerCmd.exe is only included with Windows Server 2008.

For additional information about using FirstLogonCommands to configure a Server Role, see Configure Server Roles.

For information about the syntax of ServerManagerCmd.exe, see Server Manager Command-Line Tool.

The following answer file snippet shows the ServerManagerCmd.exe syntax for installing MSMQ services.

Copy Code

<FirstLogonCommands>
   <SynchronousCommand wcm:action="add">
      <Order>1</Order>
      <CommandLine>ServerManagerCmd.exe -install MSMQ-Services -allSubFeatures -resultPath C:\Admin\MSMQServer.xml -restart</CommandLine>
      <Description>Configure MSMQ Services</Description>
   </SynchronousCommand>
</FirstLogonCommands>

Add Packages to an Unattended Setup Answer File

This procedure can be used for both Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista. You can enable MSMQ on a Windows installation by enabling MSMQ packages during Windows Setup.

Use Windows SIM to add the Microsoft-Windows-Foundation-Package to the answer file, and then specify the Action field to Configure.

For more information about adding and configuring packages, see Add a Package to an Answer File and Understanding Settings and Properties.

Select to Enable or Disable each of the MSMQ features that you want to configure.

The following MSMQ packages are available.

Name of feature displayed in SIM

Command-Line Name

Notes

Microsoft Server Message Queue (MSMQ) Server

MSMQ-Container
- This package is available in all Windows Vista editions. This package is required to configure MSMQ in all Windows Vista editions.
- This package is not available in Windows Server 2008 editions. If this feature is present in an answer file, installation on Windows Server 2008 may fail.
Microsoft Server Message Queue (MSMQ) Server Core

MSMQ-Server

This package is available in all the Windows Vista® family and Windows Server® 2008 family editions.

MSMQ Active Directory Domain Services Integration

MSMQ-ADIntegration

This package is available in all the Windows Vista® family and Windows Server® 2008 family editions.

MSMQ downlevel client server

MSMQ-DownlevelClient

This package is available only in Windows Server® 2008 family editions.

MSMQ routing server

MSMQ-RoutingServer

This package is available only in Windows Server® 2008 family editions.

MSMQ HTTP Support

MSMQ-HTTP

This package is available only in Windows Server® 2008 family and Windows Vista® Business, Windows Vista® Enterprise, and Windows Vista® Ultimate editions.

Because MSMQ HTTP support depends on Internet Information Services (IIS) and Windows Activation Services (WAS), these features must be installed before the MSMQ HTTP feature can be enabled.

For more information about these features, see the Unattended Windows Setup Reference.

MSMQ Triggers

MSMQ-Triggers

Multicasting Support

MSMQ-Multicast

MSMQ DCOMProxy

MSMQ-DCOMProxy

Rights Management Services

RightsManagementServices

Enable MSMQ on a running Windows system by using OCSetup

You can enable MSMQ on a running Windows system by using the OCsetup.exe command line tool. There are two ways to use OCsetup to configure MSMQ:

Use the MSMQ command-line names as arguments for OCSetup. The command line names are case sensitive.

For example, to install only the MSMQ Core functionality, you can execute OCsetup.exe from a command prompt and specify MSMQ-Server as a parameter:

Copy Code
```
ocsetup MSMQ-Container;MSMQ-Server
```
Conversely, to uninstall MSMQ Core functionality, at a command prompt, run OCsetup.exe and specify MSMQ-Server as the argument for the <component> parameter and specify the /uninstall parameter:

Copy Code
```
ocsetup MSMQ-Container;MSMQ-Server /uninstall
```

Use an answer file with OCSetup. By using the /unattend parameter, you can specify an unattended answer file to use to configure the Windows system. Use Windows SIM to create this answer file. Only package actions listed in the <servicing> section in the answer file are processed. All other settings in the answer file are ignored.

Before running OCSetup with an answer file, ensure that any features listed in the answer file are available on the edition of Windows on which you are running OCSetup. If a feature is in the answer file and is not available in the Windows image, installation might fail. For example, if you attempt to run OCSetup with an answer file on Windows Vista Home Basic Edition and the answer file lists the MSMQ-HTTP feature, then installation fails because Windows Vista Home Basic Edition does not include MSMQ HTTP support.

Use Windows SIM to validate an answer file against a Windows image.

For more information about the command line syntax for OCsetup, see OCSetup Command-Line Options.

For Windows Server 2008, the recommended way to configure Server roles is to use the Server Manager User Interface or Command-line tool.

Using Server Manager Command Line Tool

After Windows is installed, you can use the Server Manager command-line tool, ServerManagerCmd.exe, to configure MSMQ on Windows Server 2008. For more information, see Server Manager Command-Line Tool.

MSMQ Installation Limitations

The following sections describe some of the limitations and workarounds for configuring MSMQ.

Installing Active Directory on a Domain Controller

To configure Windows Server 2008 domain controller for MSMQ, you must add Network Service to the domain controller computer object in Active Directory.

Click Start, point to Administrative Tools, right-click Active Directory Users and Computers, and then click Run as administrator.

Click View, and then click Advanced Features.

Expand your domain's node, click the Domain Controllers node, right-click the Computer object, and then select Properties.

Click the Security tab.

Add Network Service and grant Full access, or, optionally, grant read/create or delete child objects/allowed to authenticate.

Apply changes.

After Network Service is added, install MSMQ, Active Directory integration, and the downlevel service. If MSMQ is installed before the domain controller is promoted, then verify that the Workgroup registry key under HKLM\Software\Microsoft\MSMQ\Parameters\ is set to 1, and then restart MSMQ.

Verify that MSMQ is running in Domain mode after this procedure. In Computer Management, confirm that Message Queuing has a node called Public Queues.

Installing Routing on a Non-Domain Controller

To install routing on a computer that is not running as a domain controller, use the following procedure:

Click Start, click Administrative Tools, and then right-click Active directory Sites and Services.

Expand the Sites node.

Expand the site node where the computer you want to configure is located.

Right-click the server node of the computer you want to configure, and then click Properties.

In the Security tab, add the following permissions for the computer. You may need to search for the computer.
- Read
- Write
- Create all child objects

Enable inheritance for the permissions:
1. On the Security tab, click Advanced.
2. For the computer object, click Edit.
3. On the Object and Properties tabs, change the Apply to fields to This object and all descendant objects.
4. Click OK twice to accept the settings.

Click OK.

Install the routing service on the computer.

As I've matured...

2009-03-05T13:37:00.001-08:00

As I've matured...

As I've Matured...

I've learned that you cannot make someone love you. All you can do is stalk them and hope they panic and give in.
I've learned that one good turn gets most of the blankets.
I've learned that no matter how much I care, some people are just jackasses.
I've learned that it takes years to build up trust, and it only takes suspicion, not proof, to destroy it.
I've learned that whatever hits the fan will not be evenly distributed.
I've learned that you shouldn't compare yourself to others - they are more screwed up than you think.
I've learned that depression is merely anger without enthusiasm.
I've learned that it is not what you wear; it is how you take it off.
I've learned that you can keep vomiting long after you think you're finished.
I've learned to not sweat the petty things, and not pet the sweaty things.
I've learned that ex's are like fungus, and keep coming back.
I've learned age is a very high price to pay for maturity.
I've learned that I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy it.
I've learned that we are responsible for what we do, unless we are celebrities.
I've learned that artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity.
I've learned that 99% of the time when something isn't working in your house, one of your kids did it.
I've learned that there is a fine line between genius and insanity.
I've learned that the people you care most about in life are taken from you too soon and all the less important ones just never go away. And the real pains in the ass are permanent.

Active Directory Deployment Notes

2009-03-04T13:49:00.001-08:00

Overview of Deploying Active Directory in Branch Office Environments

To meet the special requirements of the branch office scenario, deploying the Active Directory® directory service in a branch office environment requires additional configuration beyond that of a normal Active Directory deployment. The Planning section of this guide describes how to examine your needs and use the recommendations provided to create a deployment plan for your branch office environment. This section of the document describes the process of implementing the deployment plan.

This section uses the same sample company as the Planning section. The procedures outlined here are based on deploying the sample company Contoso Pharmaceuticals based on the model established in the Planning section.

This guide is intended for network managers, system integrators, and consultants who are involved in Active Directory branch office implementations, either in their own organizations or for client companies. By implementing the procedures in this document, you should be able to deploy and maintain Active Directory in a large branch office environment. For the purposes of this guide, a large branch office environment is considered to be a deployment in which at least one data center is attached to 100 or more branch offices.

This section of the guide breaks down the deployment process into seven phases. Each chapter covers one phase, beginning with the creation of your forest, and provides the steps necessary to create your sites, deploy the staging servers, and deploy your branch office domain controllers.

Resource Requirements

As with any large technology project, having the right resources for planning and deployment is essential. The resources that you will require for an Active Directory branch office deployment fall into three categories: hardware, software, and personnel. Your specific resource requirements will depend on a number of factors, including project scope, solution features, implementation schedule, and budget. In addition, the skill level and makeup of your existing Active Directory services team will affect your needs for team training and external resources.

Hardware Requirements

The specific hardware requirements for Active Directory depend on the expected service level and load that are defined in the Vision Scope and other planning documents. For example, the number of branches that will be serviced by each bridgehead server and the expected replication load during each replication connection will impact the processor and memory requirements for the bridgehead servers. In addition, the load generated by client and server DNS queries and the number and frequency of directory look-ups from directory-enabled applications will impact hardware requirements in terms of configuration and quantity. Additional help for capacity planning can be found in the Microsoft® Windows® Server 2003 Deployment Kit on the Web at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkID=8022.

Software Requirements

The following table lists the software required for deploying Active Directory in a branch office environment.

Table .1 Software Required to Deploy Active Directory in a Branch Office Environment

Item	Description	Details
Microsoft® Windows Server™ 2003, Standard Edition, Windows Server Enterprise Edition, or Windows Server Data Center Edition operating system	The version of Windows Server 2003 you require will depend on the size of your organization or the installed base in your datacenter. All editions of the Windows 2003 Server family are capable of providing Active Directory services in your branch office environment.	Note that Enterprise Edition is required for the ADS server in the staging site (discussed later in this document). For all other installations, the version you choose for the domain controllers can be based on your requirements.
Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Resource Kit Tools	This collection of tools (included with the Windows Server 2003 Deployment Kit) can help you deploy, configure, maintain, and troubleshoot Windows Server 2003:	Download the Windows Server 2003 Resource Kit Tools from the Microsoft Download Center on the Web at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=20334
Windows Server 2003 Deployment Kit	This kit delivers additional information and tools for deploying the Windows Server 2003 operating system.	Download the Windows® Server 2003 Deployment Kit on the Web at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkID=8022.
Automated Deployment Service (ADS)	ADS is used for the automated partitioning and setup of branch office domain controller operating systems.	The ADS server, located in the staging site, requires Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition.
Active Directory branch office installation files	These files are downloaded with this guide and are stored in a self extracting executable named ADBranch03.exe.	When the files are extracted they are stored in the c:\ADBrancho3 folder.

The following table lists the software that is recommended for monitoring.

Table .2 Recommended Software to Monitor the Branch Office Deployment

Item	Description	Details
Microsoft Operations Manager (MOM)	Microsoft Operations Manager is used for monitoring in the Hub-Site site.
Branch Office Monitor	Branch Office Monitor is used to run some of the monitoring tools and ensures the monitoring in the Branch Offices.
Ultrasound and Microsoft Windows File Replication Service Management Pack	Ultrasound is a robust tool for monitoring and troubleshooting FRS. The Microsoft Windows File Replication Service Management Pack is a bridge from Ultrasound to the MOM console	Ultrasound can be found at the Microsoft Download Center at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=26675. The Microsoft Windows File Replication Service Management Pack can be found at the Microsoft Download Center at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=26677
Active Directory Management Pack (ADMP)	ADMP is the management pack that allows Active Directory monitoring in a MOM environment.	The Active Directory Management Pack (ADMP) can be downloaded from the Microsoft Download Center at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=26678
Microsoft SQL Server™ 2000	Microsoft SQL Server is needed to host the MOM database
Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Service Pack 3	Service Pack 3 is required to install Microsoft SQL Server 2000 on a Windows Server 2003 domain controller	Service packs for SQL Server can be downloaded from the Microsoft SQL Server web site at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=26680

Base Operating System Installation

The procedures in this guide assume that you are starting with a server that already has the base operating system installed. For a branch office deployment, the operating system can be Windows Server 2003 Standard Edition, Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition, or Windows Server 2003 Data Center Edition. This guide assumes that you are using Windows Server 2003 Standard Edition with one exception: The server running Automated Deployment Services (ADS) must be running Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition.

Important

This guide assumes that all available Service Packs and any outstanding critical updates have been installed. Please contact Microsoft Product Support Services to acquire the updates associated with the Knowledge Base articles listed in this section.

The recommendations in this guide require the installation of the updates in the following articles, which can be found in the Microsoft Knowledge Base. To find these articles, see the Microsoft Knowledge Base on the Web at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=4441:

· 823230 - “Issues That Are Resolved in the Pre-Service Pack 1 Release of Ntfrs.exe”

· 824333 - “DNS records used for AD replication may not register on desired DNS Server”

· 824334 - “Branch Office Mode May Not Result in Balanced Connections”

· 824335 - “Hub site domain controllers may not perform inbound replication according to schedule“

· 830092 - “W32Time frequently logs Event ID 50 and poor time synchronization occurs on Windows Server 2003”

In addition to the operating system, this guide assumes that the Windows Server 2003 Support Tools have been installed from the product CD, as well as the Windows Server 2003 Resource Kit Tools, which are available from the Microsoft Download Center on the Web at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=20334.

Monitoring Solutions

Three monitoring solutions are discussed in this guide. Based on the decisions you make for your monitoring options you will need access to the installation files for one or more of these solutions. The installation files for these solutions can be found at the following locations:

Branch Office Monitor - Included in the self extracting exe file accompanying this guide.

Ultrasound - Go to www.microsoft.com and search on “FRS Monitoring”

Active Directory Management Pack - Go to www.microsoft.com and search for “Microsoft Operations Manager Downloads”. Note: Microsoft Operations Manager is required in order for you use the Active Directory Management Pack.

Notes Regarding Specific Versions of Tools

Throughout this guide you will find procedures requiring the use of the following tools:

· ADLB.exe

· Dcdiag.exe

· Repadmin.exe

Although versions of these tools are available through the Windows Server 2003 Resource Kit Tools (ADLB) and the Windows Server 2003 Support Tools (Repadmin and Dcdiag), updated versions have been included in the self-extracting executable file that accompanies this guide.

All procedures in this guide assume you are using the version that is included with the guide.

Important

After installation of the scripts that accompany this guide, which occurs in Chapter 2 of this guide, the updated versions of ADLB.exe, Dcdiag.exe, and Repadmin.exe are located in the C:\ADBranch03\Bin\Tools\x86 folder. A procedure is included in this guide to copy ADLB.exe to the appropriate folder. However, to ensure that you are using the proper version of Repadmin and Dcdiag, you must first install Windows Support Tools and then copy the updated versions of Repadmin.exe and Dcdiag.exe from C:\ADBranch03\Bin\Tools\x86 to C:\Program Files\Support Tools.

Personnel

Active Directory affects your entire organization, so it should not be surprising that the personnel involved in its deployment will cross all boundaries in a company. It is necessary to establish typical roles within an Active Directory environment and within a project team.

Typical roles within the Active Directory environment are:

· Service Administrators

· Data Administrators

· Forest Owner

· Active Directory DNS Owner

· Site Topology Owner

· OU Owner

The roles and responsibilities within a project team are:

· Architects

· Project Manager

The preceding is only a short overview of the personnel who should be involved in deploying Active Directory in a branch office environment. For a detailed description of how to identify project personnel, see “Identifying the Deployment Project Participants” in Chapter 2, “Designing the Active Directory Logical Structure” in the Windows Server 2003 Deployment Kit.

Topology Overview

This guide walks you through the process of building the branch office architecture shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1 Sample Branch Office Environment

This architecture is based on the sample used in the Planning portion of this guide and is designed using the recommendations outlined in the Planning section. The features in this model include:

· The root domain, corp.contoso.com, has two domain controllers in the hub site. Both domain controllers are DNS servers. The first domain controller is also a global catalog server. The second domain controller holds all operations master roles.

· The HQ office domain, hq.corp.contoso.com, has two domain controllers in the hub site. Both domain controllers are DNS servers. The first domain controller holds all domainwide operations master roles. The second domain controller is a global catalog server.

· The branch office domain, branches.corp.contoso.com, starts with seven domain controllers. All domain controllers are DNS server. The first two domain controllers are not used for intersite replication with the branch sites. The other five domain controllers are used as bridgehead servers. Each bridgehead server is a global catalog server.

· The staging site has a domain controller that is the replication source for the staging process. It also contains the ADS server that is used for the process to build new branch office domain controllers. The staging domain controller is a global catalog server.

· The branch office sites.

The example architecture includes five bridgehead servers. Based on the decisions you made in the Planning Guide, you will need to create the number of bridgehead servers that you determined are necessary for your environment.

This guide will walk you through the configuration of this scenario by giving you instructions for every phase of the deployment. By repeating the domain controller staging process in “Chapter 7 – Installing the Branch Office Domain Controller in the Staging Site,” you can scale out the number of branch offices to meet the requirements of your organization.

The chapters in this guide use the domain names and Internet Protocol (IP) addresses shown in the previous diagram whenever an example is appropriate. Therefore, you will want to have a copy of this diagram available as you go through the chapters and substitute the information in the diagram with your domain name and IP addresses.

The Branch Office Deployment Process

During the deployment process some of the steps, such as building the forest root domains and setting up the domain controllers in the hub site, are performed manually by members of the deployment team. Other steps, such as building the branch office domain controllers, use scripts and are almost fully automated.

By following the instructions described in this guide you will perform the following procedures:

· Build the forest root domain

Start by building the first domain controller to establish the forest root domain. Install the DNS Server service and create the DNS environment needed to support the new forest. Add a second domain controller and make it a DNS server also. After the domain controllers have been built and you have verified that Active Directory and DNS are functioning properly, create the hub site that will be used to represent all of the domain controllers located in the data center. Then move the new domain controllers into the new site.

· Build the headquarters domain

Start by building the first domain controller to establish the headquarters domain. This domain is used to represent the head office or the portion of the organization that is located in the hub site of your model. Install the DNS Server service and integrate this domain into the existing DNS environment that has been created for the forest. Add a second domain controller and install DNS on this server also. After the domain controllers have been built, verify that Active Directory and DNS are functioning properly and verify that they are in the hub site.

· Build the branch office domain

Build the first domain controller to establish the domain that will be used by your branch offices. This domain will be represented in the hub site and the branch office sites. It will contain all the branch office domain controllers and the bridgehead servers used to replicate with the branch offices. Install the DNS Server service and integrate the new domain into the existing DNS environment that has been created for the forest. Add a second domain controller and install DNS on this server also. After the domain controllers have been built, verify that Active Directory and DNS are functioning properly. After the new domain is installed and functioning properly, build the domain controllers that will be designated as the bridgehead servers. Build each bridgehead server and verify that it is functioning properly before proceeding with the next server. After all of the bridgehead servers are built, create a Group Policy object to suppress service (SRV) locator record registration and apply it to all the domain controllers in the branch office domain. Then set permissions on the Group Policy object to prevent the policy from being applied to the domain controllers in the hub site.

· Build the staging site

Create the staging site and then build a domain controller that will be used for staging the branch office domain controllers. After you have tested and verified that the new domain controller is working properly, prepare the server for its role as the staging server. Configure it as a DHCP server and use it to allocate IP addresses to the new branch office domain controllers that are built in the staging site. Use the staging server to create the media backup set that will be used during the Install From Media process during the branch office domain controller build process.

· Prepare Automated Deployment Services

Add another server to the staging site. Install a database engine and Automated Deployment Services (ADS). Install the tools and scripts that accompany this guide. Add another server to the staging site. Configure it to represent a typical server used to build a domain controller that will be placed in a branch office location. This server will be used as a model to create the image used by ADS to build the branch office domain controllers. You must customize some of the DNS settings on the server so that when a new domain controller is built from the image, it is preconfigured to fit into the branch office environment. Also, if there are any additional files you want distributed on all the branch office domain controllers, make sure you copy them onto the server at this time. If you are planning on implementing a monitoring solution that needs to have components distributed to the branch office locations, such as the Branch Office Monitor, install the necessary files. Once the new server is properly configured and you have installed your additional files, run SYSPREP and then use ADS to create an image of the server. Create an ADS job template and you are ready to begin deploying branch office domain controllers.

· Build the Branch Office Domain Controllers

Most of the process required to build the branch office domain controllers is automated and managed by either ADS or scripts that are included with this guide. Once the job has been created on the ADS server, the process is initiated by using Preboot Execution Environment (PXE) technology to start a new server that you want to turn into a branch office domain controller. When the new server is started, ADS uses PXE to detect the new computer and if the computer is listed in a defined job, ADS begins the build process. ADS uses the server image that was created earlier and builds a new server. Once the build process is complete, the new server is rebooted and scripts automatically start the Active Directory installation process. Using the media backup set, IFM is used during the directory installation process. If any problems occur during this process, information is written to log files that can be used to troubleshoot the problem. The process will continue to automatically restart until no problems are encountered and the process has completed successfully. Details about the scripts that are installed and their individual functionality can be found in commented text inside each of the script files. An overview of how the scripts work together can be found in the Readme.txt file located in the folder C:\ADBranch03\adbodg that gets created when you extract the files from the ADBranch03.exe file accompanying this guide.

· Ship the branch office domain controller

When the build process is complete the scripts will automatically reconfigure the networking settings on the new domain controller so that it is ready to be installed in its branch office location. At that point new domain controller should be shut down and immediately boxed and shipped to its new location. It is best to minimize the amount of time the new domain controller is disconnected from the network during the shipping phase of the deployment. If it is disconnected for too long, it will not replicate with other domain controllers when it is turned back on.

Great IIS Resources- IIS 7.0- Windows Server 2008

2009-02-27T09:29:00.001-08:00

Hello,

I have found a great resource for IIS 7.0 Server. Includes troubleshooting, installation, and many other topics.

Please head to:

http://iis70.blogspot.com

Thanks,

Admin.

Howto: Enable remote desktop on a windows xp machine - remotely

2009-02-27T09:26:00.001-08:00

Howto: Enable remote desktop on a windows xp machine - remotely

I've been configuring my LAN for spiceworks this afternoon. The Windows XP firewall is enabled on most of our PCs, and I didn't want to visit each station to configure it to allow spiceworks to inventory the machine. I'm also not big into group policy here at the office (what the saying about the cobbler's son's shoes?) so I didn't want to make the setting change that way.

My first idea was to use remote desktop to access the computers from my machine. That worked fine, since I have local administrator access on each machine… but I'd have to interrupt each user's work, log them off, make my firewall adjustments, then tell them it's okay to log on now… assuming that I could even get into their machines remotely.

I needed a solution for users with remote desktop disabled. If your remote user has administrator access to their machine, have them click on Start - Run and type:

netsh firewall set service remoteadmin enable

netsh firewall set service remotedesktop enable

[note: remoteadmin = remote administration, while remotedesktop = remote assistance and remote desktop]

You can also enable remote desktop over the network via regedit if you have administrator rights to the remote machine:

Run Regedit
Select File –> Connect Network registry
Enter the name of the remote computer and select Check Name
At the bottom of the registry tree you will see 2 Hives appear Hkey_Local_Machine and
Hkey_Users (under the remote computer's name)
Goto hklm\system\currentcontrolset\control\terminal server\FdenyTSConnections=1
Change the FdenyTSConnections to 0
Attempt to Re-Login

This worked okay, but I like to implement the most elegant solution possible.

So I fired up the command line on my local machine, and used psexec to configure the firewall service on the remote machine via netsh. The users never even knew I was working on their computer, which is fine by me.

To enable remote access to a machine via the command line, type:

psexec \\remotecomputername netsh firewall set service remoteadmin enable

psexec \\remotecomputername netsh firewall set service remotedesktop enable

If you aren't familiar with the PStools suite of utilities, and you like administration from the command line, you need to check out the Sysinternals web site. Too bad they were acquired by Microsoft in 2006.

SIW Review

2009-02-12T09:40:00.001-08:00

Review- Software- SIW* Plus -FREE Download.

What is SIW?

SIW is an advanced System Information for Windows tool that gathers detailed information about your system properties and settings and displays it in an extremely comprehensible manner.

SIW can create a report file (CVS,HTML,TXT or XML ), and is able to run in batch mode (for Asset

The system information is divided into few major categories:

Software Inventory: Operating System, Installed Software and Hotfixes, Processes, Services, Users, Open Files, System Uptime, Installed Codecs, Software Licenses (Product Keys / Serial Numbers / CD Key), Secrets (Password Recovery).
Hardware Inventory: Motherboard, Sensors, BIOS, CPU, chipset, PCI/AGP, USB and ISA/PnP Devices, Memory, Video Card, Monitor, Disk Drives, CD/DVD Devices, SCSI Devices, S.M.A.R.T., Ports, Printers.
Network Information: Network Cards, Network Shares, currently active Network Connections, Open Ports.
Network Tools: MAC Address Changer, Neighborhood Scan, Ping, Trace, Statistics
Miscellaneous Tools: Eureka! (Reveal lost passwords hidden behind asterisks), Monitor Test, Shutdown / Restart.
Real-time monitors: CPU, Memory, Page File usage and Network Traffic.

Well Until recently, this amazing software used to be free. Now, it seems like gtopola software is charging money for this great utility. Well, if you are new to this software then what you don't know is that this software used to be completely free of charge, there is still a freeware version on gtopola's site, however, they have greatly reduced the functionality of this software. Now, I did some research on the previous versions and I was amazed to find (what a lot of people don't know) that the previous FREE versions do almost all the functions of the NEW PAID version. And it's FREELY available on the NET you just have to look in the RIGHT places.

Below I have listed the features of the FREE VS PAID versions if you download it today from gtopala.com. Look at it carefully to see how many features have been blocked.

This is just a way of making money, I don't blame them, they made the product, but what I do want to inform the ill informed public that just download one of the previous versions of the software and you'll get all these features for FREE. The software is still 100% original, no cracks, illegal registrations, warez, or such ways have been applied as I don't believe in piracy of software. It's 100% original software as it was built.

To download this previous version please go to

http://SIWFREE.blogspot.com

Open Source Programs

2009-02-10T10:29:00.001-08:00

Best List of Freeware and Open Source Programs

For this and more cool links goto:

http://greatbookmarks.blogspot.com

3D Graphics

3Delight Free - http://www.3delight.com/index.htm
Anim8or - http://www.anim8or.com/
Aqsis - http://www.aqsis.com/
Blender - http://www.blender3d.org/
gmax - http://www.discreet.com/products/gmax/
Houdini (Free Edition) - http://www.sidefx.com/apprentice/index.html
Maya Personal Learning Ed. - http://www.alias.com/eng/products-services..._maya_ple.shtml
Now3D - http://digilander.libero.it/giulios/Eng/homepage.htm
OpenFX - http://www.openfx.org
POV-Ray - http://www.povray.org/
SOFTIMAGE|XSI EXP - http://www.softimage.com/products/exp/v3/
Terragen - http://www.planetside.co.uk/terragen/
Toxic - http://www.toxicengine.org/
Wings 3D - http://www.wings3d.com/

Anti-Virus

AntiVir - http://www.free-av.com/
Avast - http://www.avast.com/i_idt_1018.html
AVG - http://free.grisoft.com/
BitDefender - http://www.bitdefender.com
ClamWin - http://www.clamwin.com/

Anti Spyware

Ad-aware - http://www.lavasoft.de/software/adaware/
Bazooka - http://www.kephyr.com/spywarescanner/index.html
CWShredder -http://www.intermute.com/spysubtract/cwshr...r_download.html
Hijackthis - http://www.spywareinfo.com/~merijn/downloads.html
Mcft AntiSpyware -http://www.Mcft.com/athome/security/s...re/default.mspx
SpyBot Search & Destroy - http://spybot.safer-networking.de/
SpywareBlaster -http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html
SpywareGuard - http://www.wilderssecurity.net/spywareguard.html
WinPatrol - http://www.winpatrol.com/

Audio Creation

Gungirl Sequencer -http://ggseq.sourceforge.net/pmwiki.php/Main/HomePage
Jesusonic - http://www.jesusonic.com/soft.php
KRISTAL Audio Engine - http://www.kreatives.org/kristal/index.php
orDrumbox - http://ordrumbox.sourceforge.net/
Tu2 - http://www.brambos.com/news.html

Audio Players

1by1 - http://www.rz.uni-frankfurt.de/~pesch
Billy - http://www.sheepfriends.com/?page=billy
CoolPlayer - http://coolplayer.sourceforge.net/
DeliPlayer. http://www.deliplayer.com/
Foobar 2000 - http://www.foobar2000.org/
iTunes - http://www.apple.com/itunes/
Jet Audio Basic - http://www.jetaudio.com/
Musik - http://musik.berlios.de/
musikCube - http://www.musikcube.com/
QCD Player - http://www.quinnware.com/
Sonique - http://sonique.lycos.com/
Winamp - http://www.winamp.com/
XMPlay - http://www.un4seen.com/xmplay.html
Zinf - http://www.zinf.org/

Audio Tools

Audacity - http://audacity.sourceforge.net/
AudioShell - http://www.softpointer.com/AudioShell.htm
CDex - http://cdexos.sourceforge.net/
dBpowerAMP Music Converter - http://www.dbpoweramp.com/dmc.htm
EAC - http://www.exactaudiocopy.de/
Encounter 2003 - http://www.waschbusch.com/
GermaniXEncoder - http://www.germanixsoft.de/
K-MP3 - http://www.katarncorp.com/
KraMixer - http://www.kramware.com/
MP3 Book Helper - http://mp3bookhelper.sourceforge.net/
MP3 Tag - http://www.mp3tag.de/
mp3DirectCut - http://www.rz.uni-frankfurt.de/~pesch/
MP3Gain - http://www.geocities.com/mp3gain/
mp3Trim - http://www.logiccell.com/~mp3trim/
MusicBrainz - http://musicbrainz.org/
Rarewares - http://rarewares.hydrogenaudio.org/
SoundEngine Free - http://www.cycleof5th.com/en/index.htm
TagScanner - http://xdev.narod.ru/tagscan_e.htm
The GodFather - http://users.otenet.gr/~jtcliper/tgf/
TigoTago - http://www.tigotago.com/

CD/DVD Burning

Burn4Free - http://www.burn4free.com/
Burnatonce - http://www.burnatonce.com/
Burrrn - http://www.burrrn.net/
CDBurnerXP - http://www.cdburnerxp.se/
CDRDAO - http://cdrdao.sourceforge.net/
CDR Tools Frontend - http://demosten.com/cdrfe/
Deepburner - http://www.deepburner.com/
DVD Decrypter: http://www.dvddecrypter.com/
Easy Burning, DropCD & Audio CD - http://www.paehl.de/cdr

Compression / Decompression

7-zip - http://www.7-zip.org/
bzip2 - http://sources.redhat.com/bzip2/index.html
ExtractNow - http://www.extractnow.com/
FilZip - http://www.filzip.com/
Info-Zip - http://www.info-zip.org/
IZArc - http://www.florida.plus.com/izarc/
QuickZip - http://www.quickzip.org/
TUGZip - http://www.tugzip.com/
UPX - http://upx.sourceforge.net/
Zip&Go - http://www.handybits.com/zipngo.htm
Zipgenius - http://www.zipgenius.it/

Defrag Software

DIRMS & Buzzsaw - http://www.dirms.com/
OpenVMS - http://www.execsoft.com/freeware/freeware.asp

Desktop Enhancements:
AveDesk - http://www.aqua-soft.org/board/showthread.php?t=17372
CursorXP -http://www.stardock.com/products/cursorxp/download.html
Desktop Sidebar - http://www.desktopsidebar.com/
Glass2k - http://www.chime.tv/products/glass2k.shtml
Kapsules - http://kapsules.shellscape.org/
Konfabulator - http://www.konfabulator.com/info
MobyDock - http://www.mobydock.com/
Panorama - http://www.ivory.org/panorama.html
Rainlendar - http://www.ipi.fi/~rainy/index.php?pn=proj...ject=rainlendar
Samurize - http://www.samurize.com/
SlickRun - http://www.bayden.com/SlickRun/
TaskSwitchXP Pro - http://www.ntwind.com/taskswitchxp/
tclock2 - http://home.inreach.com/2tone/tclock2/tclock2.htm
Weather Watcher - http://www.singerscreations.com/
WinRoll - http://www.palma.com.au/winroll/

Download managers

Free Download Manager - http://www.freedownloadmanager.org/
Fresh Download - http://www.freshdevices.com/freshdown.html
LeechGet - http://www.leechget.net/en/
Star Downloader - http://www.stardownloader.com/downloads.php
Sun Download Manager -http://www.sun.com/download/sdm/index.xml
wackget - http://millweed.com/projects/wackget/
wget - http://xoomer.virgilio.it/hherold/
WellGet - http://www.wellget.com/

Encryption and data security

Axcrypt - http://axcrypt.sourceforge.net/
Blowfish Advanced CS- http://web.bsn.ch/lasse/bfacs.htm
Eraser - http://www.heidi.ie/eraser/default.php
File Shredder - http://www.sys-shield.com/fileshredder.htm
KeePass - http://keepass.sourceforge.net/
GnuPG - http://www.gnupg.org/
PGP Freeware - http://www.pgp.com/products/freeware.html
PicoCrypt - http://picofactory.com/picocrypt.html
TrueCrypt - http://www.truecrypt.org/
WindowsCleaner - http://www.winnowsoft.com/internet-eraser.htm

File Managers

2xExplorer - http://netez.com/2xExplorer/
A43 - http://www.shawneelink.net/~bgmiller/
ExplorerXP - http://www.explorerxp.com
Gyula's Navigator - http://www.wanari.com/
JExplorer - http://home.megapass.co.kr/~woosjung/
MeeSoft Commander - http://meesoft.logicnet.dk/

File repair and recovery

PC Inspector File Recovery -http://www.pcinspector.de/file_recovery/UK/welcome.htm

Firewalls

Jetico Personal Firewall -http://www.jetico.com/index.htm#/jpfirewall.htm
Kerio (Kerio Personal Firewall is FREE for home and personal use) -http://www.kerio.com/kpf_home.html
Outpost Firewall (version 1 is free) -http://www.agnitum.com/download/outpost1.html
SoftPerfect Personal Firewall -http://www.softperfect.com/products/firewall/
Sygate - http://smb.sygate.com/products/spf_standard.htm
Wyvern Firewall 2004 - http://www.wyvernworks.com/firewall.html
Zonealarm Basic firewall -http://www.zonelabs.com/store/content/comp...reeDownload.jsp

FTP Clients

CoreFTP - http://www.coreftp.com/
Filezilla - http://sourceforge.net/projects/filezilla
miFiles - http://www.simdata.com.au/mifiles.html
SmartFTP - http://www.smartftp.com/
TYPSoft FTP Server - http://en.typsoft.com/

FTP Servers

FileZilla - http://filezilla.sourceforge.net/
Golden FTP Server - http://www.goldenftpserver.com
GuildFTPD -http://www.totalshareware.com/asp/detail_v...pplication=8334
Quick 'n Easy FTP Server -http://www.pablovandermeer.nl/ftp_server.html
SlimFTPd - http://www.whitsoftdev.com/slimftpd
WarFTPD - http://www.jgaa.com/

HTML Editors

1st page 2000 - http://www.evrsoft.com/download.shtml
AceHTML - http://freeware.acehtml.com/download.html
Aracnophilia - http://www.arachnoid.com/arachnophilia/
HTML-Kit - http://www.chami.com/html-kit/
NVU - http://www.nvu.com/index.html
Selida - http://www.amaryllis.8m.com/
Trellian webPAGE - http://webpage.vendercom.com/
TSW WebCoder - http://www.tsware.net/
WYSIWYG Web Builder -http://www.pablosoftwaresolutions.com/html...eb_builder.html

Image viewers

Ahaview - http://www.aha-soft.com/ahaview/ahaviewfree.exe
FastStone Image Viewer -http://www.faststone.org/FSViewerDetail.htm
Irfanview - http://www.irfanview.com/
Picasa - http://www.picasa.com/content/download.php
SlowView - http://www.slowview.at/
XNView - http://www.xnview.com/

Instant Messenger

AMSN - http://amsn.sourceforge.net/index.php
Gaim - http://gaim.sourceforge.net/
IM2: http://www.im2.com
Mercury Messenger - http://www.mercury.to/
Miranda IM - http://www.miranda-im.org/
Pandion - http://www.pandion.be/
PSI - http://psi.affinix.com/
qip - http://www.qip.ru/
Skype - http://www.skype.com/
SIM - http://sim-icq.sourceforge.net/
TerraIM - http://terraim.sourceforge.net/
Trillian Basic - http://trillian.cc/downloads

Internet Explorer Front-Ends

AM Browser - http://www.ambrowser.com/
AOL Browser - http://beta.aol.com/projects/aolbrowser/
Avantbrowser - http://www.avantbrowser.com/
Maxthon - http://www.maxthon.com/
SlimBrowser - http://www.flashpeak.com/sbrowser/sbrowser.htm

IRC Clients

BersIRC - http://www.bersirc.com/
BitchX - http://bitchx.org/download.php
HydraIRC - http://www.hydrairc.com/
NodeIRC - http://node.sourceforge.net/
TinyIRC - http://www.tinyirc.net/
XChat - http://www.silverex.org/news/

Mail programs

Foxmail - http://fox.foxmail.com.cn/english/
i.Scribe - http://www.memecode.com/
Mahogany Mail - http://mahogany.sourceforge.net/
Pegasus Mail - http://www.pmail.com/
PopTray - http://www.poptray.org/
Thunderbird - http://www.mozilla.org/projects/thunderbird/

Anti-spam programs

K9 - http://www.keir.net/k9.html
MailWasher- http://www.mailwasher.net/
POPFile - http://popfile.sourceforge.net/
SpamBayes - http://spambayes.sourceforge.net/
SpamPal - http://www.spampal.org/

Network Tools

CMDTime NTP Utility - http://www.softshape.com/download/
Ethereal Protocol Analyzer - http://www.ethereal.com/
Gencontrol - http://www.gensortium.com/products/gencontrol.html
hamachi - http://www.hamachi.cc/
NetMeter - http://readerror.gmxhome.de/
NetProfiles - http://netprofiles.danielmilner.com/
NMap - http://www.insecure.org/nmap/
Ntop - http://www.ntop.org
PingPlotter - http://www.pingplotter.com
PuTTY - http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/putty
RAS Graph & Stats - http://forum.flashfxp.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=2400
RealVNC - http://www.realvnc.com/
TightVNC - http://www.tightvnc.org/
Ultr@VNC - http://ultravnc.sourceforge.net/
WinSCP - http://www.winscp.com/

Office Suite

602PC Suite free edition -http://www.software602.com/products/pcs/download.html
AbiWord - http://www.abiword.com/
OpenOffice.org - http://www.openoffice.org/
qjot - http://www.xtort.net/xtort/qjot.php

Partition Managers

Partition Resizer - http://zeleps.com/
Ranish Partition Manager - http://www.ranish.com/part/
TestDisk - http://www.cgsecurity.org/index.html?testdisk.html

PDF Utilities

CutePDF - http://www.cutepdf.com/Products/CutePDF/writer.asp
Foxit PDF Reader - http://www.foxitsoftware.com/pdf/rd_intro.php
Free PDF - http://www.webxd.com/zipguy/frpdfdl.htm
Ghostscript/GSView - http://www.ghostscript.com/
PDF 995 - http://www.pdf995.com/
PDFCreator - http://sourceforge.net/projects/pdfcreator/
PrimoPDF - http://www.primopdf.com/

Photo manipulation and image design

ArtRage - http://www.ambientdesign.com/artrage.html
ColorPic - http://www.iconico.com/colorpic/
Deep Paint - http://www.download.com/Deep-Paint/3000-21...tml?tag=lst-2-7
Delineate - http://delineate.sourceforge.net/
iIco - http://www.mintrasystems.com/world/product...duct.php?p=iico
JPEGCrops - http://ekot.dk/programmer/JPEGCrops/
Paint .NET - http://www.eecs.wsu.edu/paint.net/
Pixia - http://www.ab.wakwak.com/~knight/
Pixie - http://www.nattyware.com/pixie.html
PhotoFiltre - http://www.photofiltre.com/
Sodipodi - http://www.sodipodi.com/
The Gimp - http://www.gimp.org/
Tuxpaint - http://www.newbreedsoftware.com/tuxpaint

Programming

ActivePerl - http://www.activestate.com/Products/ActivePerl
Crimson Editor - http://www.crimsoneditor.com/
Code::Blocks - http://www.codeblocks.org/
Context - http://www.context.cx/
Dev C++ - http://www.bloodshed.net/
Dev Pascal - http://www.bloodshed.net/
Digital Mars C++ -http://www.digitalmars.com/download/freecompiler.html
Eclipse - http://www.eclipse.org/
ExamDiff - http://www.prestosoft.com/ps.asp?page=edp_examdiff
Freepascal - http://www.freepascal.org/
JCreator LE - http://www.jcreator.com/download.htm
jEdit - http://www.jedit.org/
Metapad - http://www.liquidninja.com/metapad/
Notepad++ - http://notepad-plus.sourceforge.net/uk/site.htm
Notepad2 - http://www.flos-freeware.ch/
Open Watcom - http://www.openwatcom.org/
Pelles C - http://www.smorgasbordet.com/pellesc/index.htm
PHP Hypertext Parser - http://www.php.net/
Programmer's Notepad - http://www.pnotepad.org/
PSPad - http://www.pspad.com/
Python - http://www.python.org/
Ruby - http://www.dm4lab.to/~usa/ruby/index_en.html
SharpDevelop - http://www.icsharpcode.net/opensource/sd/
WinMerge - http://winmerge.org/

Pop-up Blockers

Google Toolbar - http://www.google.com/
NoAds - http://www.southbaypc.com/NoAds/
PopUp Stopper - http://www.panicware.com/product_psfree.html
Privoxy - http://www.privoxy.org/
Proxomitron - http://www.proxomitron.info/

RSS Readers

Ablion - http://www.fileheaven.com/Abilon/download/14059.htm
Feedreader - http://www.feedreader.com/
FireANT - http://www.antisnottv.net/
GreatNews - http://www.curiostudio.com/
RssBandit - http://www.rssbandit.org/
RSSOwl - http://www.rssowl.org/
RssReader - http://www.rssreader.com/
RSS Xpress - http://rssxpress.free.fr/en/?page=&idNews=
SharpReader - http://www.sharpreader.net/

System Information and monitoring

CPU-Z - http://www.cpuid.com/cpuz.php
Everest -http://www.lavalys.com/products/overview.p...ang=en&pageid=1
Gkrellm - http://bill.nalens.com/
Motherboard monitor - http://www.majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=311
SpeedFan - http://www.almico.com/speedfan.php
Sysmetrix - http://www.xymantix.com
WCPUID - http://hp.vector.co.jp/authors/VA002374/src/download.html

Video codecs

DivX Codec - http://www.divx.com/divx/?src=toptab_divx_from_/index.php
FFDSHOW - http://sourceforge.net/projects/ffdshow
XviD - http://www.xvid.org/

Video players

AC3Filter - http://sourceforge.net/projects/ac3filter
BsPlayer - http://www.bsplayer.org/
Crystal Player - http://www.crystalplayer.com/index.php?page=downloads
Cygwin MPlayer - http://armory.nicewarrior.org/projects/cygmp/
DivX Player - http://www.divx.com/
MaximusDVD - http://www.maximusdvd.com/
Media Player Classic - http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=82303
VideoLan - http://www.videolan.org/

Video tools

DVD Shrink - http://www.dvdshrink.org/
DScaler - http://deinterlace.sourceforge.net/
FlasKMPEG - http://www.flaskmpeg.net
GSpot - http://www.headbands.com/gspot/
VirtualDub - http://www.virtualdub.org/
VirtualDubMod - http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=65889
Zwei-Stein Video Editor -http://www.thugsatbay.com/software/index.html

Web browsers

Firefox - http://www.getfirefox.com
K-Meleon - http://kmeleon.sourceforge.net/
Mozilla - http://www.mozilla.org/
Netscape - http://channels.netscape.com/ns/browsers/default.jsp
Opera - http://www.opera.com

Web servers

Abyss - http://abyss.sourceforge.net/
Apache - http://httpd.apache.org/
Sambar - http://www.sambar.com/
Savant - http://savant.sourceforge.net/
SimpleServer:WWW -http://www.analogx.com/contents/download/network/sswww.htm
TinyWeb - http://www.ritlabs.com/tinyweb/index.html
Xitami - http://www.xitami.com/

Webcam Software

booruWebCam - http://www.booru.net/
Pryme - http://www.hilo.dk/pryme/

Checksum Utilities

fsum - http://www.slavasoft.com/fsum/
hksfv - http://www.big-o-software.com/products/hksfv/
md5sum - http://www.etree.org/md5com.html
md5summer - http://www.md5summer.org/

General Utilities And Other Applications

AdShield -http://www.lossepladsen.dk/all4you/TheLostWorld/AdShield.php
AnalogX - http://www.analogx.com/
AppRocket - http://www.candylabs.com/approcket/
Celestia - http://www.shatters.net/celestia
CCleaner - http://www.ccleaner.com
Contact - http://www.isaacboy.com/contact.htm
Cygwin - http://www.cygwin.com
Dirkey - http://www.protonfx.com/dirkey/
EditPad Lite - http://www.editpadpro.com/editpadlite.html
EssentialPIM - http://www.essentialpim.com/
Folder Size Extension - http://foldersize.sourceforge.net/
HTTrack - http://www.httrack.com/
Inno Setup - http://www.jrsoftware.org/isinfo.php
KeyNote - http://www.tranglos.com/free/keynote.html
Memtest-86 - http://www.memtest86.com
Money Manager -http://www.thezeal.com/software/manager/default.asp
MWSnap - http://www.mirekw.com/winfreeware/mwsnap.html
NetTime - http://nettime.sourceforge.net
Nullsoft Installer - http://www.nullsoft.com/free/nsis
Open Subfolder -http://www.bubblepop.com/opensubfolder/index.html
Peerguardian - http://www.methlabs.org/
Process Explorer (aka ProcessXP) -http://www.sysinternals.com/ntw2k/freeware/procexp.shtml
QuickPar - http://www.quickpar.org.uk/
QuickSFV - http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Mouse/4668/
png2ico - http://winterdrache.de/freeware/png2ico
Restoration - http://www3.telus.net/mikebike/RESTORATION.html
Stickies - http://finiteloop.org/~btaylor/software/stickies/
Sysinternals - http://www.sysinternals.com/
Toolbox - http://www.sil.org/computing/toolbox/
TreeSize - http://www.jam-software.com/freeware/index.shtml
TuneXP - http://www.driverheaven.net/dforce/showdoc.php?doc=txp_about
Turbo Pad - http://turbopad.sourceforge.net/
Unlocker - http://ccollomb.free.fr/unlocker/
Vim - http://vim.sourceforge.net
WeathAlert - http://www.ic.sunysb.edu/stu/msowul/?page=weathermain
YourDir - http://www.primeoption.com.au/FreewareYourDir.htm

HOW TO CLEAN AN INFECTED COMPUTER

2008-11-25T14:55:00.001-08:00

HOW TO CLEAN AN INFECTED COMPUTER..

Date: November 26, 2008 12:00 PM

How To Clean An Infected Computer 2^ND EDITION.

http://www.newsmartcool.com/

Cleaning an infected computer today has become harder than ever. To effectively clean your system you must first learn a little about what you are trying to get rid of and what tools you need to get the job done. I'm going to try to give you some of the background, followed by the basics of getting rid of these pests.

Today there are a variety of things that can infect your computer such as viruses, worms, trojans and spyware. I refer to all of them as malware since that word seems to best describe them and covers both viral and spyware related issues. I find it best to use a multi-pronged approach to fighting malware, so I use several software programs to find and get rid of them. Hopefully, by giving you a little of the background, you will be able to learn what tools to use and when to use them so that you may clean your computer of the malware you may encounter.

Viruses were the first computer bugs, and anti-virus (AV) software was made specifically to detect and get rid of these. Worms are a little different than viruses, which is one reason why AV software has had a harder time catching them. Next came trojan horses, usually just called trojans. These are very different than both viruses and worms. They actually take advantage of the weaknesses that are inherent in AV software. For one, most trojans actually try to hide from being detected by AV software. They also work "smarter" by creating hidden copies of themselves so that when they do get detected and cleaned, they can re-infect the computer with the hidden copy right after the AV software cleans the original infection. Basically, trojans are AV software's worst nightmare simply because AV software wasn't designed to specifically go after this type of threat. Today, AV software is much better at detecting all types of malware. With the release of AVG 8.x.xxx... it now combines both an antivirus with an antispyware scan to help users fight both viral and spyware related issues.

Spyware isn't a new breed of malware. It is simply a combination of various computer exploits and they utilize various combinations of scripts, trojans and worms. Currently they take advantage of trojans the most since they are harder to detect and clean properly. Anti-spyware (AS) software was created specifically for detecting and cleaning this type of malware, so when it comes to trojans and some worms, AS or a combined AV/AS software is much better equipped to fight these than the AV only types of software such as the earlier versions of AVG.

A new varient of spyware is the Rogue type of malware software. This type of software pretends to be useful utils like antispyware, antivirus, hard drive and/or registry cleaning utilities but really their only goal is to sell you their useless software or to install other spyware onto your system. They do this by falsely stating you are infected by something or have other issues that could affect the performance of your system. They usually are installed using the "drive by installation" method that happens when you may visit various malicious websites, often installing without your knowledge.

There is also another type of detection that AVG and most good AS softwares will detect and they are only detected because of their potential security risk if a user was unaware of their existence. AVG calls this type of software Potentially Unwanted Programs ( PUPs )... others may refer to them as hacktools, riskware, or simply "not-a-virus". These are normally very useful utilities.. but since they can also be used for harm, AVG and other utils will detect them so the user is aware of their existance. Examples of these are utilities to recover forgotten passwords, forgotten software keys ( like the Windows install key ), IP scanners, remote control software and a variety of similar utils. If you have any of these installed or on your system, you will want to exclude them from detection with whichever utility you are scanning for malware with... or at the very least do not have them removed when you are cleaning the system up. Remember that these are not malware and do not do damage to your system BUT if you are unaware of their existance, it could be a sign that a hacker may have placed them on your system to do harm. A quick rule of thumb, if you are aware of their existence leave them on your system... if not quarantine them and check out what they really are later.

I suppose I should also cover one last subject before moving on to the cleanup steps... Tracking Cookies. AVG as well as most antispyware utils do detect these and each has a specific but different list of the ones they will find. These ARE NOT MALWARE.. they can do no harm or damage to your system. They do however represent a potential invasion of your privacy since they can be used to track your internet browsing habits. So unless you have setup your browser to block them or use a specialized utility to do that... you will always find these detected. So do not be alarmed by their presence.. clear them if you want ( I always clear mine )... but also understand that they will likely return the next time you happen to visit a website that may use them.

First, you will need to get some software programs to help you. The following programs are what I use personally. Not only do I trust them, but they are also free for personal use. The companies that provide the free software, also provide software that they sell for use in a commercial environment. Usually, the free versions are just as good but simply don't have as many of the extra features which make the commercial versions even more attractive to use.

Tools, ComboFix your First Bet!

ComboFix: http://bleepingcomputer.com

ComboFix is a program, created by sUBs, that scans your computer for known malware, and when found, attempts to clean these infections automatically. In addition to being able to remove a large amount of the most common and current malware, ComboFix also displays a log when it is finished that contains a great deal of information that an experienced helper can use to diagnose, retrieve samples of, and remove infections that are not automatically removed.

Due to the power of this tool it is strongly advised that you do not attempt to act upon any of the information displayed by ComboFix without supervision from someone who has been properly trained. If you do so, it may lead to problems with the normal functionality of your computer.

Please note that this guide is the only authorized guide for the use of ComboFix and cannot be copied without permissions from BleepingComputer.com and sUBs

Download here: http://download.bleepingcomputer.com/sUBs/ComboFix.exe

Anti-Spyware Software

For Windows 98 & later

• Spybot S&D - You can find it at [www.spybot.info] Latest version is v1.6.0.30

( NOTE: When installing Spybot, I recommend that you disable the option for TeaTimer which is enabled by default so it doesn't affect your cleaning efforts. If you wish you can enable it later but do so only after you finish cleaning the system. )

For Windows 2000, Windows NT, Windows XP & Vista only

• MalwareByte's Anti-Malware - You can find it at [www.malwarebytes.org] Latest version is v1.25

Anti-Virus Software

For Windows 2000, Windows XP (inc. 64bit version) & Vista (inc. 64bit version)

• AVG Technologies Free Edition - You can find it at [free.grisoft.com] - English version, [gratis.avg.it] - Italian version, [free.avg.de] - German version, [gratuit.avg.fr] - French version, [free.avg.com] - Japanese version, [free.avg.com] - Brazilian Portuguese version & [free.avg.com] - Dutch version Latest version is v8.0.175

First you will want to download each of the above programs and then install them. After you install them, you MUST update them so you will have the latest protection. If you don't update these programs and you are infected with the latest parasites, you will not be able to effectively detect and clean them from your computer, so remember to update, update, update. Most if not all of the definition files for these utils are now updated daily.

Now that you have downloaded, installed and updated all of the above utils... Print this article so you can refer to it later and disconnect your computer from the internet. This is an important step and will remove one way that a malware may use to re-infect your computer.

With the release of AVG 8.x now combining both antivirus and antispyware into one product, I have now switched from scanning with it last, to scanning with it first since it now detects more malware than any of the others. I also use the different AS software packages in a specific order so that I go after the tougher problems first and the easiest ones last.

Turn off System Restore

• WinME and WinXP have a cool feature called System Restore. It is used to restore your computer to an earlier configuration in case of a problem. The only problem is that it wasn't made with malware in mind, and often it can't tell the difference between an infected file and a good file, so it can as easily restore an infected file if it had been in a protected area, effectively re-infecting your computer right after you have cleaned it. Because of this, it is recommended to turn off System Restore before you test, and when you're done, turn it back on so you are still protected from standard computer problems.

• For WindowsME

Click Start, Settings, and then click Control Panel.
Double-click the System icon. The System Properties dialog box appears.

NOTE: If the System icon is not visible, click "View all Control Panel options" to display it.

Click the Performance tab, and then click File System.
Click the Troubleshooting tab, and then check Disable System Restore.
Click OK. Click Yes, when you are prompted to restart Windows.

• For WindowsXP

Click Start.
Right-click the My Computer icon, and then click Properties.
Click the System Restore tab.
Check "Turn off System Restore" or "Turn off System Restore on all drives."
Click Apply.
When turning off System Restore, the existing restore points will be deleted. Click Yes to do this.
Click OK.

• For Win Vista

1. Open System by clicking the Start button , clicking Control Panel, clicking System and Maintenance, and then clicking System.
2. In the left pane, click System Protection. If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.
3. To turn on System Protection for a hard disk, select the check box next to the disk, and then click OK.

Carefully Look at Windows Add/Remove programs for suspicious programs

• Many of the spyware threats actually install into your system just like a regular program. Many may appear to be utilities that you may think are helpful but in reality aren't. Look for add-an toolbars, while toolbars like those provided by Google, MSN, Yahoo and other are great utils, there are many more that aren't and if in doubt check it out to see if ones you have are parasitic. Another common exploit are the Search helpers, WinTools, Gator products, IE Helper, Comet Cursor and many others just to name a very few. Peer-to-Peer (P2P) programs are another common source for these and even the ones that doen't come with spyware themselves are a high security risk that may lead to your system being infected or to spread infections like these. Remove all suspicious programs, if you accidentaly remove the wrong item, you may always re-install them later.

Run Disk Clean-Up

• This actually comes with Windows and has been installed by default since Windows 98. You can find it by clicking the Start Button and then going to Programs / Accessories / System Tools / Disk Clean-up. I recommend selecting all of its options except the ones for Office Setup Files and Compress Old Files if you have them. While you may select those if you wish, they aren't as important. This will clean up all of the temporary files so your testing will go faster, and may also delete any spyware that may hiding there if the spyware isn't already running. To clear systems that have System Restore you will need to select the second tab and click the button for clearing this.

Run AVG 8.x.xxx

• Most antivirus programs, including AVG, by default have their settings to only scan executable files in an attempt to speed up looking for infections. While most of the time this is just fine, the newest threats that can infect your computer have started getting sneaky on how they hide their files making it easier for them to reinfect your system if your antivirus program detected and removed their executable file. To help also detect these "backup" files that the infection leaves on your system, you should in my opinion, make a couple of changes to what your AVG scans during these tests from just executable files to all files.

• To change AVG's settings during a scan, open AVG's User Interface.
Click the Computer scanner tab, then under the Scan whole computer area, select Change scan settings. Unselect Scan infectable files only and select all other checkmarks with the Automatically heal/remove infections and Scan for Tracking Cookies as options I'll let you decide if you want enabled or not.

• Now AVG will scan all of the files when you scan your computer. This will take longer to complete, but I feel it is a small price to pay for the added security it provides.

Run MalwareByte's Anti-Malware

• Select to perform a Full Scan and then click the Scan button. This is another specialized util that not only targets Rogue spyware but other malware as well. This currently targets malware and rogues from 931+ vendors ( the malware authors ). The malware that is targeted in this category is very actively being updated by their authors because of the potential they have for making money. As with all antispyware utils, update this often and before each use to help give you the edge in fighting these malware.

Run Spybot Searh and Destroy

• When you run it, it will automatically select all the spyware that it finds, if there is something you don't want to get rid of for some reason, deselect it and then let Spybot fix all of the rest of the problems that it finds. This program also will ask to restart your computer so it can test again if it has problems removing something, so let it.

• Run the scans again in Safe Mode. This will keep many of the parasites from loading and being able to hide from your protection software. To access Safe Mode on most versions of Windows, start tapping the [F8] key after you first start or restart your system, start tapping it before you ever see a Windows Splash Screen and continue until you get the Menu where you may select it from the list. On WinNT, this is called VGA mode and on Win2k you actually start tapping just after the first splash screen shows. For Detailed instructions see Restarting Your Computer in Safe Mode

These procedures should have cleaned most cases of infection that you will find. Yes I said MOST because there are some infections that are very hard to detect and remove. Generally, if you have one of these, you will need the assistance of an expert to help you get rid of it.

When you believe you are finished, remember to turn System Restore back on if you had turned it off.

I recommend testing for parasites as often as you can, probably at least once a month if not more. The sooner you catch them, the less damage they can do to your computer, and the less chance of a hacker finding your sensitive information such as checking account info, passwords, etc.

Windows Tip

Windows itself, by default, hides certain files, system folders or file extentions from the user to make it easier to navigate. If you are having to find an infected file or just one you are looking for, this can cause you to not find it. If you wish you may change this to show all of the files on your computer.

Open your My Computer icon (Either from your desktop or the Start Menu)
Click the Tools menu and select Folder Options(on older systems it may be in the View menu)
Select the View tab and scroll through the Advanced settings

Enable or disable the following (using a checkmark to enable)

enable - Show hidden files and folders
disable - Hide extentions for known file types
disable - Hide protected operating system files (WinME and WinXP only)

Now click Apply and Ok

For Win Vista info. see this link [www.howtogeek.com].

How to find an embedded infection

AVG 7 Free now detects infections in areas that it was unable to before. The most notable are ones embedded inside of archives. Since AVG can't determine if you created the archive or if it was a parasite that created it, they leave these alone so you may have a chance to recover uninfected files from the archive and then you simply delete the archive when done. Infections that are inside of an archive aren't a direct threat to your system unless the file gets extracted to allow it to run. Grisoft has chose this method because it is safer for your data that the archive may contain.

For someone that is new to looking for these embedded infections, it can be a little confusing with the way that AVG will list the file because it also must include the archive file name that contains it in the full path/filename. The following is an example that I made up to highlight the info so you will know which filename to look for so you may either extract files and or delete the correct file. I will color code these for you, but AVG will not.

AVG will give you a name like...

C:\Windows\Temp\InfectedArchive.cab:\InfectedFile.exe

The location of the file is in C:\Windows\Temp
The archive that contains the infection is InfectedArchive.cab

And the actual infected file inside of the archive is InfectedFile.exe

Note the ":\" that seperates the archive from the file it contains.
After you have recovered any files inside of the archive that you may want to keep (other than the infected one that is) just simple delete the whole archive.. in this example the file to delete would be InfectedArchive.cab

It looks harder than it really is.. just remember the file you want to look for is named just before the last ":\"

Most of the time, you won't have any files to recover inside of the archives. The only time this isn't true is if it is an archive that you had created yourself. If you didn't create it.. just delete and move on.

Remove Viruses and Other Great XP utilities

2008-10-15T15:47:00.001-07:00

General Antivirus tools

[] Full packages with real time protection

Avira AntiVir Personalion Classic (http://www.free-av.com/)
Avast! Home ion (http://www.avast.com/eng/avast_4_home.html)
AVG Anti-Virus Free ion (http://free.grisoft.com/doc/1)

[] On demand

BitDefender 10 Free ion (http://www.bitdefender.com/bd/site/downloads.php?menu_id=21)
Dr.Web ! (http://download.drweb.com/drweb+antivirus+free+services/#0)
Kaspersky Virus removal tool (http://downloads2.kaspersky-labs.com/devbuilds/AVPTool/)
MicroWorld Free AntiVirus Toolkit Utility (http://www.mwti.net/products/mwav/mwav.asp)
Norton Security Scan (http://pack.google.com/intl/en/pack_installer.html?hl=en&gl=us)
See other choices

[] General Anti-spyware and anti-trojan tools

a-squared Free (http://www.emsisoft.com/en/software/free/)
Ad-Aware SE Personal (http://www.lavasoftusa.com/products/ad_aware_free.php)
Comodo BoClean (http://www.comodo.com/boclean/boclean.html)
Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware (http://www.malwarebytes.org/mbam.php)
Prevx Computer Security Investigator (CSI) (http://www.prevx.com/freescan.asp)
Spybot - Search & Destroy (http://www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html)
Spyware Doctor Starter ion (http://pack.google.com/intl/en/product_info.html?sd)
Spyware Terminator (http://www.spywareterminator.com/)
SUPERAntiSpyware (http://www.superantispyware.com/)
See other choices

[] Specific Antispyware tools

Gromozon Rootkit Removal Tool (http://www.prevx.com/gromozon.asp)
Remove Rustock rootkit (http://greatis.com/security/Rustock(lzx32.sys)_free_removal_tool.htm)
RogueRemover (http://www.malwarebytes.org/rogueremover.php)
SmitRem (http://noahdfear.geekstogo.com/)
Smitfraudfix (http://siri.urz.free.fr/Fix/SmitfraudFix.php)
See other choices

[] Specific Antivirus tools

Avast! Virus Cleaner (http://www.avast.com/eng/down_cleaner.html)
McAfee Stinger (http://vil.nai.com/vil/stinger/)
Multi Virus Cleaner (http://www.viruskeeper.com/us/mvc.htm)
Trend Sysclean (http://www.trendmicro.com/download/dcs.asp)
Microsoft® Windows® Malicious Software Removal Tool (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=AD724AE0-E72D-4F54-9AB3-75B8EB148356&displaylang=en
See other choices

[] Specific Antirootkit tools

Avira AntiRootkit Tool (http://www.free-av.com/en/tools/4/avira_antirootkit_tool.html)
BitDefender Rootkit Uncover (http://www.majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=5157)
Catchme (http://www.gmer.net/catchme.php)
DarkSpy (http://www.fyyre.net/~cardmagic/index_en.html)
F-Secure BlackLight (http://www.f-secure.com/security_center/)
GMER (http://www.gmer.net/files.php)
IceSword (http://www.antirootkit.com/software/IceSword.htm]
McAfee Rootkit Detective (http://www.majorgeeks.com/download5447.html)
Panda Anti-Rootkit (http://research.pandasoftware.com/blogs/research/archive/2007/04/27/New-Panda-Anti_2D00_Rootkit-_2D00_-Version-1.07.aspx)
RegRun Reanimator (http://www.greatis.com/security/download.htm)
Rootkit Buster (http://www.trendmicro.com/download/rbuster.asp)
Rootkit Unhooker (http://www.onlinedown.com/detail/12679.htm)
RootkitRevealer (http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sysinternals/utilities/RootkitRevealer.mspx)
Sophos Anti-Rootkit (http://www.sophos.com/products/free-tools/sophos-anti-rootkit.html)
UnHackEe (http://greatis.com/unhackme/download.htm)
See more choices

[] System Analysis (autostart points) tools

AutoRuns (http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sysinternals/utilities/Autoruns.mspx)
HijackThis! (http://www.trendsecure.com/portal/en-US/threat_analytics/hijackthis.php)
RunScanner (http://www.runscanner.net/)
Silent Runners (http://www.silentrunners.org)
SystemScan (http://www.suspectfile.com/systemscan_guide.php)
See other choices

[] System Analysis (process) tools

Process Explorer - http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sysinternals/utilities/processexplorer.mspx
Sysinternals Process Monitor - http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sysinternals/FileAndDisk/processmonitor.mspx
See other choices

[] System Analysis (file) tools

FileMon (http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sysinternals/utilities/filemon.mspx)
RegMon (http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sysinternals/SystemInformation/Regmon.mspx)
LADS (http://www.heysoft.de/nt/ep-lads.htm)
NTFS Streams Eraser (http://www.excessive-software.eu.tt/)
Streams v1.53 (http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sysinternals/utilities/Streams.mspx)
See other choices

[] System Analysis (portmappers) tools

[] Packet Sniffer

PacketMon (http://www.analogx.com/contents/download/network/pmon.htm)
SmartSniff (http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/smsniff.html)
Wireshark (http://www.wireshark.org/)

[] Port mapper

[] File deletion

FileASSASSIN (http://www.malwarebytes.org/fileassassin.php
KillBox (http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/files/killbox.php
OTMoveIt (http://download.bleepingcomputer.com/oldtimer/OTMoveIt.exe)
Unlocker (http://ccollomb.free.fr/unlocker/

[] General cleaning and diagnosis tools

Brute Force Uninstaller (http://www.spywareinfo.com/~merijn/programs.php)
Deckard's System Scanner/Comboscan (http://www.geekstogo.com/forum/)index.php?automodule=downloads&showfile=19
LSP fix (http://www.cexx.org/lspfix.htm)
The Avenger (http://swandog46.geekstogo.com/avenger2/whatsnew.html)
WinPFind (http://download.bleepingcomputer.com/oldtimer/winpfind.exe)
Winsock fix (http://www.snapfiles.com/get/winsockxpfix.html)
X-raypc (http://www.x-raypc.com/)

[] Patch checker

Secunia Personal Software Inspector (https://psi.secunia.com)
Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer (http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/tools/mbsahome.mspx)

[] Maintenance

CCleaner (http://www.ccleaner.com/)
JkDefrag (http://www.kessels.com/JkDefrag/)
PageDefrag (http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sysinternals/Utilities/PageDefrag.mspx)
NTREGOPT (http://www.larshederer.homepage.t-online.de/erunt/)
Eraser (http://www.heidi.ie/eraser/)
SDelete (http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sysinternals/Security/SDelete.mspx)

[] Online Scan links

[] Multi-engine

Jotti's malware scan (http://virusscan.jotti.org/)
ViruScan (http://virscan.org/)
VirusTotal (http://www.virustotal.com/en/indexf.html)

[] Sandboxing single file scans

Anubis (http://analysis.seclab.tuwien.ac.at/?Anubis)
PC Tools Threat Expert (http://www.pctools.com/threat-expert/submit/)

[] Full disk scan (with cleaning functions)

Ewido Online Scan (http://www.ewido.net/en/onlinescan/)
PC Tools Threat Expert(http://www.pctools.com/threat-expert/submit/)
Sunbelt Sandbox (http://research.sunbelt-software.com/Submit.aspx)
BitDefender Online (http://www.bitdefender.com/scan8/ie.html)
ESET Online Scanner (http://www.eset.com/onlinescan/index.php)
eTrust Antivirus Web Scanner (http://www.ca.com/us/securityadvisor/virusinfo/scan.aspx)
F-Secure Online Virus Scanne (http://support.f-secure.com/enu/home/ols.shtml)
Panda ActiveScan (http://www.pandasoftware.com/products/activescan.htm)
Trend Micro HouseCall (http://housecall.antivirus.com/housecall/start_pcc.asp)
Windows Live Safety Center - http://safety.live.com/site/en-US/center/howsafe.htm
See more choices

[] Bootup disks

BartPE (http://www.nu2.nu/pebuilder/)
Knoppix (http://www.knoppix.org/)
Ultimate Boot CD (http://www.ubcd4win.com)

[] Other information links

Malwarebytes' RogueNET™ Suspicious Applications Database (http://www.malwarebytes.org/database.php)
Spyware Warrior Rogue list (http://www.spywarewarrior.com/rogue_anti-spyware.htm)
Castlecops research database ( here)
FileAdvisor (http://fileadvisor.bit9.com/services/search.aspx)
Prevx (http://fileinfo.prevx.com/filesearch.asp)
Panda Virus Encylopedia (http://www.pandasecurity.com/homeusers/security-info/about-malware/encyclopedia/)
McAfee Virus Encylopedia (http://us.mcafee.com/virusInfo/)
Other Virus Encylopedias (http://www.anti-malware.info/encyclo.htm)

[] Privacy

[] Portable VM

Portable Virtual Privacy Machine (http://www.metropipe.net/pvpm.php)
xbmachine (http://xerobank.com/xB_machine.html)
Mojopac (http://www.mojopac.com)

[] Remote desktop

[] LiveCd

[] Antikeylogger

[] Encryption

Truecrypt (http://www.truecrypt.org/)
Keepass (http://keepass.sourceforge.net/)
Omziff (http://www.xtort.net/xtort-software/omziff/)

[] Misc

Download Google Chrome Now!

2008-09-03T09:40:00.001-07:00

Download Google Chrome Now!

Google's New Browser!

For reviews and downloads please head to:

http://www.google.com/chrome

Official Google Blog: A fresh take on the browser

2008-09-02T12:01:00.000-07:00

Official Google Blog: A fresh take on the browser

Google Chrome Browser Download Links Out on Tuesday

2008-09-02T09:29:00.001-07:00

Google Chrome Download Link Not Yet out

Will update ya when I

Who's Blogging About This Article

Michael Masnick | TechDirt

1 hours ago

Google's Browser Is A Warning Shot At Windows, Not At Internet Explorer

About four years ago there were all sorts of rumors that Google was getting ready to enter the browser wars with its own offering, most likely built on Mozilla's code ... After some leaks of a comic book (a comic book?

David Rothman | TeleRead

2 hours ago

E-book apps coming to new Google browser? Beta's due today as free download

Come on, Google. You can do it--the ePub e-book standard, I mean. Google has just launched a new browser, which could, as seen by the Wall Street Journal, be an operating system in disguise. That suggests lots of potential beyond mere Web browsing ... Related: Info on the comic book promoting Chrome, plus our earlier item, ePub widget for Opera: Browsers to do e-books in a big way?

MacRumors

17 hours ago

Google to Launch Webkit Based Web Browser Called 'Chrome'

Google announced today that they would be releasing a new open source web browser called Google Chrome. The new browser will be available for download as a beta starting tomorrow. Google states that the reason for a new web br.. ... published at AllThingsD.com.

Paul Boutin | Valleywag

18 hours ago

Google launches browser, comic strip [Google Chrome]

You can't download the new Google Chrome browser yet. But you can read about it in this comic strip by Scott McCloud, author of the nerd classic Understanding Comics.

Rafat Ali | PaidContent

19 hours ago

Google To Launch New Web Browser Chrome; Open Source

Google (NSDQ: GOOG) is going after the fundamental underpinning of how users access the Internet: it is going to launch a new web browser called Chrome, according to various reports (first reported here). It may come as soon as tomorrow, reports ATD ... The full comic book explaining the features is posted here.

Eric Eldon | VentureBeat

20 hours ago

Chrome: Google's souped-up, forthcoming web browser

Google is working a new web browser, called Chrome. The software may be available for download as early as tomorrow. In the meantime, Google has mailed a comic book about the browser to Google Blogoscoped.

Who's Blogging about this Topic

eWeek

57 minutes ago

Google Chrome Browser Joins Microsoft IE, Mozilla Firefox, Opera

Google will launch Chrome in beta on Windows Tuesday, challenging Microsoft Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox and Opera in the Web browser market.

Stefan Tilkov's Random Stuff

1 hours ago

Google Chrome Comic

I find this intro to Google's browser insanely cool — even if the actual browser didn't have cool features (which it haswill have), this kind of presentation is just great.

Andrew | Domain Name Wire

1 hours ago

Google Chrome Domain Names

Google remained tight-lipped about its new browser. So who registered GoogleChrome.com a month ago? By now you've probably read that Google is releasing a web browser called Google Chrome.

Tom Spring | Today @ PC World

1 hours ago

Official Google Chrome Screenshots

For those eager to download the beta version of Google's Chrome Web browser the best they can do for now is ponder the official screenshots of the browser. The availability of the beta Google Chrome browser is expected later...

Ryan Ash | GEARFUSE

2 hours ago

Introducing: Google Chrome

Tomorrow, Google will be launching the beta version of Google Chrome in more than 100 countries. Chrome is it's new browser and while it may seem like it's aimed at Internet Explorer or Firefox, Google is really targeting Windows.

Cory Bergman | Lost Remote

2 hours ago

Google debuts its own browser

Google is preparing to launch an open-source internet browser, dubbed Chrome, to compete with IE, Firefox and Safari.

Ministry | The Ministry Blog

2 hours ago

Chrome: first thoughts

'Chrome', the forthcoming web browser from Google, technical details of which were 'accidentally' leaked as a comic strip, looks very impressive, but I don't see myself becoming an early-adopter....

Amit Chowdhry | Pulse 2.0

2 hours ago

Google Chrome: The Open Source Web Browser

Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) has joined in the web browser wars to compete against several other players such as Mozilla, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT). The new browser is called Chrome and it is open source.

Paul McNamara | NetworkWorld Blogs

2 hours ago

Google explains 'Chrome' browser gambit

I have just finished reading Google's "comic book" explanation of the thinking and technology that went into the company's new Web browser, called Chrome. If you're interested in the high-level details, it's well worth a look.

Dwight Silverman | TechBlog

3 hours ago

Linkpost 9.2.2008

• A fresh take on the browser -- Google says it will launch its new Chrome browser today. Also Google Chrome Screenshots and Mozilla Not Worried About Google Browser • ...

Mike Butcher | TechCrunch UK

3 hours ago

What will Chrome mean for us?

Obviously the media is full of news about Google's Chrome browser today. But do you think it will have an impact in the UK/European market? Will users take up the Chrome browser to the point where it will impact the mainstream?

Brett Winterford | Webware

3 hours ago

Mozilla CEO: Chrome was inevitable

Mozilla CEO John Lilly on Tuesday waxed philosophical about the release of Google's new Web browser, Chrome, despite it signaling an attempt by the search giant--and Mozilla's major financier--to become its biggest competitor.

Yinka Adegoke | Reuters

3 hours ago

Getting ready for Google Explorer aka Chrome

Google is getting into the browser business with the launch of Google Chrome, a browser designed for today's Internet user with better capabilities for video and other complex Web programs.

broadbandreports.com

3 hours ago

Google Browser Available Today - Google fires fresh shot in browser wars...

According to a post on the Google Blog, the search giant is expected to unveil a beta version of a new Google web browser today.

Google Subnet | NetworkWorld Blogs

3 hours ago

Google hedges its bets with new browser

Fast on the heels of its announcement that Gears works with Apple's Safari browser and the launch of Microsoft's IE 8 with its new privacy feature, Google offered Chrome, its open-source entrant into the crowded browser marketplace.

Kevin C. Tofel | jkOnTheRun

4 hours ago

Three reasons Google Chrome could be the netbook browser of choice

I finally got a chance to read through the great comic book explanation of Chrome, the new browser from Google. The beta browser is scheduled to hit today for Windows devices, although the team is working on a version for Mac and Linux users as well.

Barry Schwartz | Search Engine Roundtable

4 hours ago

Can Google Win The Browser Wars With Google Chrome?

I am sure many, if not all, of you have heard the news about Google Chrome, Google's open source web browser that is launching today. Techmeme is plastered with blog posts on the topic, it is seriously amazing! In any...

scotty | iChat, Jabber and Tiger

4 hours ago

Welcome Chrome, the Google Operating System

Top news item at TechMeme today -- Google has revealed its own browser -- Google Chrome, via a comic adoption by the artist Scott McCloud (ain't that presentation brilliant!)

GuyClapperton | DaniWeb IT Discussion Community

4 hours ago

Chrome, Chrome on the Range

Google's new venture will go public as most of you are reading this (assuming 'most of you' means our American readers, who I assume are a substantial majority). Google is going to release a browser.

Paul Douglas | Tech.co.uk

5 hours ago

In Depth: 20 things you need to know about Google Chrome

Google took the unusual step of announcing its new browser via an online comic. We've had a read through and pulled out the things you need to know about Google's new browser. 1.

James Kendrick | jkOnTheRun

5 hours ago

Google Chrome is coming- how well will it run on netbooks?

Google caught us all by surprise with the leaked comic book detailing their new browser Chrome. The new browser is made from the ground up around how we consume the web using multiple tabs.

Larry Dignan | Internet Stocks on Seeking Alpha

6 hours ago

Why Is Google Entering the Browser Market?

Google (GOOG) will launch a Web browser called Chrome that will take on Microsoft's (MSFT) Internet Explorer and apparently Mozilla's Firefox, which the search giant essentially funds.

Peter Gothard | Tech.co.uk

6 hours ago

Google Chrome comic artist - who is he?

By now, you'll have read the comic that appeared late yesterday announcing Google Chrome, but who wrote it, and what's he all about?

Peter Cohan | BloggingStocks

6 hours ago

Is Google's browser a threat to Microsoft?

The New York Times reports that Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) will introduce its own browser -- named Chrome -- but will it cost Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) any revenues? Since Microsoft gives away its browser, the answer is no.

Dan Grabham | Tech.co.uk

6 hours ago

The Google Chrome masterplan: it's not about the browser

Today, Google will launch Chrome, just days before the search giant's 10th birthday. The buzz overnight has been that it's just an internet browser. But that's surely not the case.

Kelly Hodgkins | The Boy Genius Report

6 hours ago

Google goes to war armed with a new web browser, Google Chrome

After single-handedly winning the online search wars, Google appears to be poised to now enter the browser wars. A comic book fashioned document has appeared online at the unofficial Google Blog, Blogoscoped.

Marc Chacksfield | Tech.co.uk

7 hours ago

Google Chrome: first screenshot

Google surprised everyone late last night by announcing it is to enter the web browsing market with Google Chrome.

Murk | Murky.org

9 hours ago

Google Chrome

Today, Google release a beta of their new browser software, Chrome. Like Mozilla Firefox, it will be Open Source. This comic strip explains the concepts behind it. The ideas look good, very solid.

Paul Boutin | Valleywag

10 hours ago

Google's browser comic kind of sucks [Google Chrome]

Cartoonist Scott McCloud's 1993 graphic non-fiction book, Understanding Comics, was a breakthrough piece of work.

Robin | Snarkmarket

10 hours ago

Understanding Googlechromazon

Can't decide what's cooler -- Google Chrome or the fact that they had Scott MccCloud make an explainer comic book for it. Yeah, probably the comic book.

tiger86 | DaniWeb IT Discussion Community

11 hours ago

Google Reveals 'Chrome' The First Open Source Google Web Browser.

Google just announced their project that has just been rumors up till now. Google has created a Open Source Browser called Chrome and wanted to tell the whole world about it through a comic book designed by Scott Cloud.

Electronista | Gadgets for Geeks

11 hours ago

Open-source Google Chrome browser based on Webkit

Google this weekend accidently leaked details -- via an online comic book -- on its upcoming cross-platform open-source browser: Google Chrome -- which it claims will deliver a streamlined and improved interface along with performance improvements an...

MacNN | The Macintosh News Network

11 hours ago

Open-source Google Chrome browser based on Webkit

Lee Odden | Online Marketing Blog

11 hours ago

Shiny New Google Chrome

There's already a ton of buzz on this but it's potentially a big change for the web as John Battelle called it, "This Is Web OS, Make No Mistake".

Andy J. S. | PalmAddicts

11 hours ago

A quick peek at Google's Chrome

You're as surprised as I am, when we heard that Google is entering the tough web browser war with its own; and Google's new web browser is going to be called Chrome!

Michael Arrington | Seeking Alpha

11 hours ago

Meet Chrome - Google's Windows Killer

Make no mistake. The cute comic book and the touchy-feely talk about user experience is little more than a coat of paint on top of a monumental hatred of Microsoft (MSFT).

Duncan Riley | inquisitr.com

12 hours ago

Google Chrome Search: anti-competitive lock-in or inspired thinking?

As screen shots start to surface of Google's Chrome browser prior to Tuesday's official launch, one thing is very clear: Google Chrome doesn't have a dedicated search box.

GNU/Linux And Open Source Medical Software News

14 hours ago

Google To Launch New Open Source Web Browser 'Chrome' Tomorrow

Google's got it's own browser now : Google Chrome. It's more than just an open source browser, it's more of an application framework.

Michael Santo | Alice Hill's Real Tech News - Independent Tech

14 hours ago

Google's Chrome Re-Ignites the Browser War

By Michael Santo Editor-in-Chief, RealTechNews After an odd leak in which a comic penned by none other than Scott McCloud, writer of the classic Understanding Comics, was accidentally emailed, revealing the technology...

Tony Hung | Deep Jive Interests

14 hours ago

Google's Chrome Could Be Crap — And It Would Still Gain Market Share

Lots of interesting news about Google's new browser, Chrome, and lots more interesting questions around it.

Dave Methvin | InformationWeek Weblog

14 hours ago

Google Chrome Answers the GreenBorder Mystery

Google's new browser, named Chrome, seems to have taken off a bit earlier than Google anticipated. As far as I know, it's also the first browser launched by a comic book announcement.

Harry McCracken | Technologizer

14 hours ago

Google Chrome: Hey, That Logo Looks Vaguely Familiar

Google has posted an official online version of the Scott McCloud comic book introducing Chrome, its new browser, and the cover sports the Chrome logo.

Eric Lander, Associate Editor | Search Engine Journal

15 hours ago

Google's Chrome Browser: What You Need to Know

The Beta Download: Available September 2, 2008 Google's Chrome Browser is not only real, it's almost available to users for download. According to the Google Blog Chrome will become available for download tomorrow morning in more than 100 countries.

John Battelle | John Battelle's Searchblog

16 hours ago

Chrome: This Is Web OS, Make No Mistake

Why launch Chrome (Google's new "browser") when Firefox, Google's favored son, is doing so well? Because Google needs its own.

Paul Boutin | Valleywag

16 hours ago

First browser screenshots from Google [Google Chrome]

They've yanked the video, so for now you'll have to settle for this screenshot of Google's new Chrome browser. No Mac version yet, hmph.

Sam Dean | OStatic

16 hours ago

Google Serves Up an Open Source Browser: Chrome

Google has officially confirmed, following rumblings in the blogoshpere, that it has developed an open source browser called Chrome.

Christina Warren | Download Squad

16 hours ago

Download Squad goes Chrome-crazy

As Brad reported earlier today, Google is launching the first beta of its Webkit-based browser, Google Chrome, tomorrow!Details of Google Chrome were originally leaked by the Google Blogoscope blog...

daniel | Geek Rant dot org

17 hours ago

Google Chrome coming soon

Google launches its own web browser, Chrome, sometime today. Beta for Windows initially. Sounds good though. Google blog announcement. Amusing comic explaining what it is. (thanks for the prompt, Tony) Separate tabs in separate processes?

Michael Arrington | TechCrunch

17 hours ago

Meet Chrome, Google's Windows Killer

Make no mistake. The cute comic book and the touchy-feely talk about user experience is little more than a coat of paint on top of a monumental hatred of Microsoft.

John Furrier | John Furrier

17 hours ago

Google Chrome Comic Strip

Talk about comic relief on a nice long Labor Day weekend - Google's marketing team didn't factor in that overseas delivery would screw up their product launch. Here is the Google comic that talks about the Google browser - Chrome.

Charles Johnson | Little Green Footballs

18 hours ago

The Google Chrome Comic Book

Google is working on a web browser with a greatly enhanced Javascript engine and other cutting edge features, and they've posted a comic book to explain its coolness to the masses: Google on Google Chrome.

Michael Winter | On Deadline

18 hours ago

Google joins browser war — 'Chrome' coming Tuesday

Take that, Microsoft. Google is muscling in on Internet Explorer. Tomorrow, Goolge will release its first browser, called Chrome. The search giant announced today that it would be offering a beta version in Windows.

Arnold Zafra | Search Engine Journal

18 hours ago

Google Makes the Google Chrome Web Browser Official

It didn't take Google to make the rumored web browser, Google Chrome official.

paradox1x

18 hours ago

The Google Browser Is Real And On The Way

Now here's a great way to introduce a new software project - to illustrate it as a comic book! Scott McCloud illustrates for the world Google Chrome - Google's browser project. More details at Google Blogoscoped and Dare Obasano's.

DG | D' Technology Weblog

18 hours ago

Google Chrome - An open source Google Browser

Google announced of launching beta version of their browser called Google Chrome in more than 100 countries for Windows to start.

James Kendrick | jkOnTheRun

18 hours ago

Google's web browser Chrome- browser as OS?

Word is spreading that Google is readying a web browser based on the Webkit, the juice behind Apple's Safari browser. A comic book detailing Chrome has appeared which is an ingenious method for Google to spread the word about Chrome.

Eideard | Dvorak Uncensored

18 hours ago

Google comic book debuts Chrome browser

Oh, frumious bandersnatch, oh, joy!

zabuni | MetaFilter

18 hours ago

Google Chrome

Google, faced with concerns over Microsoft using it's browser marketshare to marginalize the search engine, have decided to take the fight directly to them.

Gary Price | ResourceShelf

19 hours ago

Getting Ready for Google Chrome (aka the Google Web Browser)

Yes, Google will soon (very soon) have its own web browser.

Dan Farber, Larry Dignan and David Berlind | Between the Lines

19 hours ago

Google to launch browser to battle IE; Is Firefox a target or tag-team partner?

Updated: Google will launch a Web browser called Chrome that will take on Microsoft's Internet Explorer and apparently Mozilla's Firefox, which the search giant essentially funds.

Marc Chacksfield | Tech.co.uk

19 hours ago

Google unveils Chrome: its own web browser

In what must be the strangest way to unleash a potential product on to a marketplace, Google has let slip about its plans to create its own web browser in the form of a comic book.

Peter | Peter Van Dijck's Guide to Ease

19 hours ago

Google Chrome comic book all on one page

I was reading a scanned version of the comic book (see and link to this blog post) that is introducing the Google browser - "Google Chrome" - but the site's way slow and seems down now...

Robert Scoble | Scobleizer

19 hours ago

Google still has a sense of humor

Not only did Google announce Chrome (its new browser that's making a splash all over TechMeme) with a comic book but there's a bit more funny history as well. Several years ago Microsoft had a project code-named Chrome.

Danny Sullivan | Search Engine Land

19 hours ago

Google Chrome - Google's Finally Launching Its Own Browser

So much for a quiet Labor Day off. Google Blogoscoped has news of Google Chrome, a new browser that Google plans to release. More coverage can also be found on Techmeme. No -- it's not just a rumor.

Per and Susanne Koch | Pandia Search Engine News

19 hours ago

The Google Chrome Browser

Google presents its new browser in comic book form. Google's way of not announcing new innovations is well known. The company must have one of the smallest advertising budgets among the large American companies.

Robert Ambrogi | Robert Ambrogi's LawSites

19 hours ago

Google Readies its Own Browser

Search giant Google is about to declare war on Internet Explorer and Firefox with the release of its own open-source browser, called Chrome. A beta version will be available tomorrow morning.

Om Malik | GigaOM

19 hours ago

Google Browser Is Real. Another Win For Webkit

Kara Swisher has confirmed the existence of Google Chrome, a browser developed by the Mountain View, Calif.-based search company.

John Paczkowski | Digital Daily

19 hours ago

Google Chrome: CliffsNotes on the Comic

Though its unconventional announcement in the guise of a comic book might seem to suggest otherwise, Google's Web browser project Chrome proves the company is taking the browser war seriously.

Venture Beat | Industry Standard

20 hours ago

Chrome: Google's souped-up, forthcoming web browser

Harry McCracken | Technologizer

2008-09-02T09:26:00.001-07:00

Google Chrome Download Link Not Yet out

Will update ya when I

The Google Chrome Browser

Google presents its new browser in comic book form.

Google's way of not announcing new innovations is well known. The company must have one of the smallest advertising budgets among the large American companies.

Today, however, it seems they have chosen a whole new tactic for presenting new products and services, namely a comic book.

Google Blogoscoped claims to have received the comic book from Google, and it is drawn by Scott McCloud.

Seriously, this work seems too extensive to be a hoax. Moreover, there has for a long time been rumors that Google has been working on a web browser of its own, and this one fits the bill.

Chrome is a brand new browser, and not another incarnation of Mozilla or another existing technology.

According to the comic strip, Chrome is to be more stable, faster and more secure than existing browsers. Furthermore, it is –like Google's mobile phone operating system — going to be open source, meaning that others will get access to the source code and to contribute to its development.

Independent tabs and other features

To avoid javascripts and other snippets of code to take over the browser (and make it hang), Chrome will have multiple processes. Each tab will get a separate process. One tab may go down, but the browser will not crash. Closing a tab will end the process.

You can also tear off a tab and turn it into a separate window.

Google will make use of its huge database of webpages to test the browser.

Chrome will include an open source JavaScript Virtual Machine called V8, developed by a team in Denmark.

The address bar functions as a all-in-one entry point for URLs and searches. It will try to autocomplete what you are writing and even let you search the site you plan to visit from the address bar (a lot like Firefox).

Like the Norwegian browser Opera, Chrome will start up with a tab presenting 9 thumb-shot images of your most visited web pages.

Chrome will also keep track of harmful sites, warning you about malware and phishing. And there is, like in Firefox, Flock, Safari, Opera and the latest version of Explorer, a privacy mode.

Is there a need for a new web browser?

Does it matter? After all, most people seem to cope well with the Internet Explorer, and those who want more have Firefox, Opera and Safari, right?

Although many of the features presented in the comic seem both useful and innovative, none of them are what we would call a must-have killer feature (although we must admit that we lust for greater stability!)

But that is not the main point here. Google has an extremely powerful brand. Even stronger than Microsoft's nowadays. It also has the most impressive advertising medium on the planet: Google's home page. One simple link saying "Download Google's new browser here!" on that page, will immediately lead to million of downloads.

There is no doubt in our mind that Google, like Microsoft, will give prominence to its own search tools in that browser. Not that they will stop people from adding other search engines. They are far too clever for that. But the average Joe will be content with searching Google and Google only.

Google will also make Chrome GMail friendly. It is a fair guess that other online Google services will fit well inside the browser window, as well: Google Docs, for instance, or the Web seed Reader. All this means that Google can use the browser to make even more loyal followers.

Windows Server 2008 – is it more than just another Operating System?

2008-08-29T12:15:00.001-07:00

Windows Server 2008 – is it more than just another Operating System?

Let's start off with some basics. These are my views from the information I have.

That's not to say the information I have is correct, or I could have misinterpreted it.

Moreover, these views may not be shared by many, even those inside the company.

I am a Microsoft User – there I've said it, no going back now. However, that doesn't

mean I am a Microsoft lover, I have a desire to push an alternative such as Linux to the

desktop and Open Office or the new Lotus Symphony as an application suite. Still, I

digress; this article is my view on Windows Server 2008.

There are a number of elements in W2K8 which makes it interesting, and that I have

used the word elements is an indication of the first thing that caught my interest. W2K8

differs from earlier version of Windows in that it is not a huge Operating System that

includes everything Microsoft could think you needed in one cumbersome package.

W2K8 is componentised. If you do not want the server to be an Active Directory

controller, don't load the component (Microsoft apparently calls them "roles"), and so

on. What a simple but amazing development. Likewise, if you come from a UNIX

background you can opt not to load the Windows GUI front end role. For those users

running large, transaction intensive databases where every bit of performance is

needed for the application, this is another interesting move.

One of, if not the most important element of W2K8 is Hyper-V. With Windows Server

2008 everything you need to develop and support a Virtualised Infrastructure is there

from day one. It's another role if you want it to be, but expect this to be the released as

a product in its own right in the near future in competition to VMWare, the current

Virtualisation environment of choice for most organisations. One of my colleagues has

just Virtualised most our servers to run on a single IBM Blade, including a server just

managing print. However, in an effort to push what the technology offered he installed

Hyper-V as the base and installed Virtual Servers onto that, apparently this makes our

operating environment quicker and more resilient. You can purchase Windows Server

2008 without Hyper-V if you wish. The estimated saving with be in the region of £20.

Another "role" I find worth mentioning is called Presentation Virtualization with Terminal

Server. With an ever increasing requirement for users to access company data from

multiple locations there has been an exponential growth in the use of Terminal Services.

However, earlier versions suffered a little from issues around printing and the creation of

cut down desktops, hence the increased usage of software from the likes of Citrix.

Great Free USB Portable Programs!

2008-08-26T14:21:00.001-07:00

Great Free USB Portable Programs! With a Kick!

With traveling and use of many different computers, many geeks (and geek girls) often find a need to have a uniform set of tools handy wherever we may be. I've put together a list of 25 invaluable portable apps that can be installed on an Ipod or Thumb Drive. These are really cool!

http://newsmartcool.com,

http://windows2008serveradmintools.blogspot.com/

TrueCrypt – encrypt your thumb drive to protect your information
ToDoList – A tak management tool that allows you to repeatedly sub-divide your tasks into more manageable pieces whilst still presenting a clean and intuitive user experience. (Windows Only)
Portable Firefox – Leaves no personal information behind on the machine - you can take along your browser/extensions/bookmarks anywhere
Pidgin Portable – All-in-one instant messaging (supports AIM, ICQ, MSN Messenger, Yahoo, G-Chat, etc)
WS FTP32 – ftp client
FileZilla – yet another ftp client
Notepad2 – a fast light-weight advanced text editor with syntax highlighting
Notepad++ - this is one of my favorite text editors – now made portable
Color Cop – this is one of my favorite freeware apps – includes an eyedropper you can drag over any window to grab the color value. It then offers a palette of 42 complimentary colors to the one you've picked.
Ifranview – a light little graphics viewer/editor that packs a big punch. You can use it to work with screen captures, create slideshows and more
GIMP – the popular open source image editor packaged as a portable app – very robust
7-Zip Portable – handles zip, gzip, tar, rar etc
Allway Sync – syncs files between your thumb drive and PC
Unknown Devices – helps you find out what the unknown devices in the device manager are
TestDisk – data recovery software that can recover lost partitions or make drives bootable again
UTorrent – my preferred bit torrent client – I love having this with me wherever I go
Roeder's .NET Reflector – recently purchased by Red Gate, this still-free app can be used to explore .NET assemblies, understand relationships between classes and methods, find where types are instantiated and exposed or check that code has been correctly obfuscated before release. There are also over 30 add-ins available.
Process Explorer – formerly Filemon and Regmon, this is an invaluable sleuthing tool
TightVNC – based on the popular VNC remote control software, this version can live on a thumb drive
WinMerge – compares differences between files and merges changes. It has the same features as the desktop version
Text2Html – a text to HTML converter – converts text files into HTML format
Portable Apps Suite – this is the mac-daddy of them all – it includes Firefox, Thunderbird(email), Sunbird(calendar),ClamWin (antivirus), Pidgin(see above), Sumatra PDF Readable, KeePass Password Safe, OpenOffice, CoolPlayer (audio Player) and even a couple of games
Restoration – Recover accidentally deleted files – even after they were deleted from the recycle bin
Infra Recorder Portable – cd and dvd burning
RockXP – allows you to recover windows passwords or keys, change keys, display system password, and more – sneaky!

Please feel free to leave links to other tools in the comments section of this post.

Windows 2008 Improvements in Clustering and Storage Area

2008-08-26T11:38:00.000-07:00

Improvements in Clustering and Storage Area
Network Support
Although clustering of servers has been around for a long time in Windows (dating back
to Windows NT 4.0 when it was available, but really didn’t work), clustering in Windows
2008 now not only works, but also provides a series of significant improvements that
actually make clustering work a whole lot better.
As IT administrators are tasked with the responsibility of keeping the network operational
24 hours a day, 7 days a week, it becomes even more important that clustering works.
Fortunately, the cost of hardware that supports clustering has gotten significantly less
expensive; in fact, any server that meets the required specifications to run Windows Server
2008, Enterprise Edition can typically support Windows clustering. The basic standard for
a server that is used for enterprise networking has the technologies built in to the system
for high availability. Windows Server 2008, Enterprise Edition or Datacenter Edition is
required to run Windows 2008 clustering services.
Clustering is covered in detail in Chapter 29, “System-Level Fault Tolerance
(Clustering/Network Load Balancing).”
No Single Point of Failure in Clustering
Clustering by definition should provide redundancy and high availability of server
systems; however, in previous versions of Windows clustering, a “quorum drive” was
required for the cluster systems to connect to as the point of validation for cluster opera-
tions. If at any point the quorum drive failed, the cluster would not be able to failover
from one system to another. Windows 2008 clustering removed this requirement of a
static quorum drive. Two major technologies facilitate this elimination of a single or
central point of failure, which include majority-based cluster membership verification and
witness-based quorum validation.
The majority-based cluster membership allows the IT administrator to define what devices
in the cluster get a vote to determine whether a cluster node is in a failed state and the
cluster needs to failover to another node. Rather than assuming the disk will always be
available as in the previous quorum disk model, now nodes of the cluster and shared
storage devices participate in the new enhanced quorum model in Windows 2008.
Effectively, Windows 2008 server clusters have better information to determine whether it
is appropriate to failover a cluster in the event of a system or device failure.
The witness-based quorum eliminates the single quorum disk from the cluster operation
validation model. Instead, a completely separate node or file share can be set as the file
share witness. In the case of a GeoCluster where cluster nodes are in completely different
locations, the ability to place the file share in a third site and even enable that file share
to serve as the witness for multiple clusters becomes a benefit for both organizations with
distributed data centers and also provides more resiliency in the cluster operations compo-
nents.

.NET Framework Technologies

2008-08-26T11:31:00.000-07:00

NET Framework Technologies
By using the .NET Framework, isolated applications can be transformed into online services
that can be worked with over the Internet or in intranet environments, allowing users to
access the services regardless of where the users are located. Windows Server 2003 exists
within this framework, and the capabilities of the framework form the underpinnings of the
operating system. Anything you can do with the Windows operating system on the corporate
network, you can do over the Internet as well.
The concepts underlying the Windows .NET Framework are industry-standard technologies,
including the following:
● Extensible Markup Language (XML) A language that can be used to describe other
languages and to give form and structure to abstract data concepts. You give data con-
cepts form by describing their components and the relationship between the compo-
nents. For example, the concept of a customer could be represented by using name,
address, phone number, account number, and purchase history components.
For more information about XML and related technologies, I recommend reading XML Pocket
Consultant (Microsoft Press, 2002).
● Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) A technology that facilitates message
exchange in distributed environments, allowing XML-formatted information to be
exchanged over the Internet or an intranet. The messages exchanged can include gen-
eral requests and responses to requests.
● Universal Description, Discovery, and Integration (UDDI) A standard that makes it
possible to locate and discover information about XML-based Web services. By using
UDDI, an application can locate an available service and then discover information
about it.
● Web Service Description Language (WSDL) A language that can be used to describe
XML-based Web services. By using WSDL, function names, required parameters, and
returned results from an XML-based Web service can be published so that they can be
discovered through UDDI.
For organizations looking to develop Web-based applications, these technologies make it
possible to create online services that communicate with each other, learn about new Web
services that might become available, and then use a discovery process to structure messages
properly so communication exchange is possible.

Convert .AVI files to DVD format for Free! Download software here!

2008-08-04T13:29:00.001-07:00

Convert

.AVI

Files

DVD

Format

FOR FREE

With this great utility!

Quick Media Converter 3.5.0

http://www.snapfiles.com/download/dlqmconverter.html

Installation (Make sure you have Admin Rights)

1) Double-click on the downloaded file

2) Select the desired language

3) Install it in the directory of your choice.

4) Click next, and then click on yes

5) Select or unselected the check boxes

6) Click on Done

The application opens by itself in the initial chosen language.

You can always change the language settings later by clicking in the upper menu "languages".

Help And Support

You can view Video tutorials by selecting help in the upper menu and then the sub menu "help tutorials". Or copy and paste this link in your browser http://www.cocoonsoftware.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=category&sectionid=10&id=34&Itemid=106

We only give support for our users with the latest version! if your application is not up to date we will not be able to provide you with any help. So make sure you have the latest version before posting on our forum.

Forum in English: Click on the question mark in the upper right corner of your application.

You can read and access all the topics without being registered.

Only registered users are able to ask for help and post. Make sure you read the FAQs & Forum rules before posting (they are strictly applied).

We strongly recommend you to visit the forum read and or search the topics with the search tool if you encounter problems, as there is a great chance that your case is already treated on the forum.

Thank you for also reporting eventual bugs on our forum this helps us improve this free application that we offer you and is beneficial to our whole community of users.

Updates

Your will be notified by your application if an update is available or if you do not dispose of the latest version. Click on the message link to download the new version or patch if it appears.

You may also click on the Cocoonsoft red icon to check for new versions and view the presentation of our product on our website. http://www.cocoonsoftware.com/#us

This product is distributed under GNU GPL license and contains source code from Fabrice Bellard FFMPEG and FFplayer also included in the package is Camstudio GNU GPL which allows you to record audio and on-screen activity on your computer.

To Uninstall:

=>Start

=>All Programs

=>Quick Media Converter

=>Uninstall Quick Media Converter

Thank you for using Cocoon Software Quick Media Converter Freeware http://www.cocoonsoftware.com

Download Google Browser Sync Here!

2008-07-25T15:04:00.001-07:00

Google says it has discontinued Google Browser Sync,

Well for people who use it every day, it's "panic" time. Don't worry, although, they have disabled it thru their main page you can still download it by going to the link on the bottom of the page. Kudos!

Download it here!

http://dl.google.com/firefox/google-browsersync.xpi

Recover Lost Files!

2008-07-22T12:23:00.000-07:00

Recover Lost Files- Free Utility - Upload a Document to Scribd

Magellan Maestro Firmware Update / Download

2008-07-16T08:15:00.001-07:00

Magellan Maestro 3100 Region Update 2.18

PLEASE PRINT THESE INTRUCTIONS

Download the SOFTWARE

Follow this guide to update your Magellan Maestro 3100 with maps for Hawaii and Puerto Rico, and increase your Points of Interest to 1.3 Million.

This update is only compatible with Windows® XP.

Consider the time required for downloading this update. The table shows approximate download time:

Connection Speed		Approximate Download Time
Dial-up (56 kbps)		51 Hours
DSL (256 kbps)		11 Hours
Cable (512 kbps)		5.5 Hours
T1 (1024 kbps)		2.7 Minutes

Once downloaded, the update process will take approximately 60 minutes.

Before Beginning:

Check to make sure you have everything required for updating your unit:

Magellan Maestro 3100 GPS
PC running Windows XP
Two blank SD memory cards (16 MB to 2GB), one for backing up any data you have on your Maestro 3100, and the other for use during the update process
USB cable
Paper clip or similar object (for resetting your unit)
If the update is interrupted or fails for any reason, run the Update Wizard again before contacting Technical Support.

If there are issues with the lengthy download, or if you are running Windows 2000 or Windows Vista™, it is recommended that you order the Maestro 3100 Region Update 2.18 DVD.

EACH OF THE FOLLOWING POINTS IS CRITICAL TO THE UPDATE PROCESS

The battery of your Maestro 3100 must be fully charged before beginning the update.

NOTE: It takes between 3 and 4 hours to fully charge the battery with your vehicle power adapter. Check System Settings to ensure the battery is fully charged.
SPECIAL NOTE: Your Address Book will be erased during the process. Please back up your data to an SD memory card.
1. Insert a blank SD memory card into your Maestro 3100
2. Select User Options from the Main Menu
3. Select Backup and Restore
4. Select Backup
5. Select Yes to confirm
Do not connect your Maestro 3100 to your PC until instructed to do so by the Update Wizard.
The Region Update 2.18 must be completely downloaded and run from the hard drive of your PC. 1.2 GB free hard drive space is required.
Close all other applications while performing the update.
Disconnect all Pocket PC devices from the USB ports on your PC.
Insert a blank SD card (16 MB to 2GB) into your Maestro 3100.
Perform a hard reset on your Maestro 3100 by pressing a paper clip or similar object into the hole marked reset.

Update Process:

Download the Region Update 2.18 (Magellan_Maestro_3100_2_18r6.zip) and save it to your desktop.
Double-click the file to automatically unzip the contents.
Double-click the .exe file from the unzipped folder
Select Next on the Welcome screen.
Turn on your Magellan Maestro and connect the USB cable.

NOTE: You may be prompted to install a driver to establish connectivity between your Maestro and your PC. Refer to the Instructions for Driver Installation below.
If the Windows Logo window appears, select Continue Anyway.
Select Next. The update process will begin. A bar will indicate the progress of the update. Do not power off your Maestro. Do not disconnect the USB cable, or remove the SD memory card during the update process.
Select Finish.
Disconnect the USB cable from your Maestro. Do not power off your Maestro or remove the SD memory card. Your Maestro will power itself off and on multiple times. This is normal during the process. Your Maestro will complete the update process by copying files from the SD card. When completed, your Maestro will return to the Warning screen.
You may now remove the SD memory card.

Instructions for Driver Installation (Only required if prompted)

If the Found New Hardware Wizard appears during the update process, follow the instructions to install the necessary driver. (A driver is a small piece of software that enables communication between your computer and a connected device.)

Select "No, not this time". Then select Next to install the driver

Select "Install the software automatically (Recommended)". Then select Next. Your PC will search for the driver and prepare to install it.

If the Windows Logo window appears select Continue Anyway.

After the Found New Hardware Wizard has installed the driver select Finish and continue the update process.

Download:

http://magellan.cachefly.net/softwareupgrades/Magellan_Maestro_3100_2_18.zip

Remove Spyware, Malware, Virus Programs in 10 Simple Steps

2008-06-26T13:58:00.001-07:00

SPYWARE MALWARE RUINING YOUR DAY? SLOW COMPUTERS, POPUPS BOTHERING YOU, THEN YOU HAVE COME TO THE RIGHT PLACE, I CAN HELP

(Updated List: July 21st, 2008)

Added: ThreatFire a must have program! to the zip program!

Also, stupid filefactory had deleted my zip file, now moved it to another location. Please download the files from link below.

Download these tools to get rid of spyware, malware, viruses, Trojans, and these pesky little critters, all the tools that I talk about I have downloaded to a convenient location for you guys.

Believe me if you follow these steps you will successfully clean your Laptop / PC / Server 100% Guaranteed.

Please be sure to backup everything prior to running ANY TOOLs for your protection.

You can click the link below to download this file.
http://boxstr.com/files/2832893_kfgwo/spware_removal_tools.zip

run a small program called HJTInstall.exe By Trend Micro.
2) next run, ComboFix.exe (this is like a Nuclear weapon to all malware / spyware programs)
3) run spybot, also an extremely powerful and useful utility.
4) run another great program called launch.exe by Dr.Webb to see if you still find spyware.
5) run windows-kb890830-v1.42.exe this is an authentic Microsoft's malicious file removal tool a good one to have.
6) by this point you should have 99 percent of your garbage out.
7) follow these steps a couple of times until everything is gone.
Install ThreatFire!
8) you also might want to run CCleaner to get rid of cookies and other dlls not used by any programs
9) use any one of the free anivirus programs I have included be sure to use the scheduler in them to schedule automatic scans.
10) Also install Microsoft's WindowsDefender.msi a free program and a good one to guard against any future threats. Another one of my favorites.
I highly recommend installing: avinstall.exe which is PC TOOL's Antivirus program also included in the file above.
There are a total of 14 Files for your help and protection. Every single one has been tested and effective against spyware's and malware programs.
Also recommended is to install Avast antivirus! (Free Edition!) which is a great porgram to have.

Some Added Tools: