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| Saturday, March 3, 2007 |
| Data Recovery from laptop and notebook hard disk drives |
Laptop and notebook computers make up an ever increasing percentage of the computer population. Regardless of the manufacturer of the laptop or notebook, its hard disk will nearly always be either an IBM Travelstar, Hitachi DK23, Fujitsu or Toshiba hard drive.
All laptop hard disks are prone to the same problems as their desktop counterparts, but because of their smaller size and greater density they are uniquely prone to a few others also. Typical data loss situations that arise with laptops are -
Impact damage eg. the laptop is dropped or sat on
Inaccessible drives and partitions
Virus attack
Hard disk component failure
Hard disk crashes
Fire, water, coffee and other liquid damage
Media surface contamination and damage
Accidental reformatting of partitions
Accidental deletion of data
Inaccessibility of data due to drive being protected by ATA passwordLabels: data recovery, laptop, operating system, windows |
posted by Hussain @ 6:57 PM   |
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| 25 Main Windows Vista Features |
Microsoft has been promoting Windows Vista as having features that provide a unique experience. The system is aimed to be user friendly and dynamic. Microsoft has worked on Vista at two levels; they have updated existing windows features and introduced new features. Among the many features of Windows Vista are the following gleaned from published documentation, blogs, and releases by Microsoft.
1. The interface is said to be state of art and has been called Aero, authentic, energetic, reflective, and open. User friendly, the interface is touted to be cleaner, streamlined, and aesthetic.
2. The windows shell for Vista is expected to reach for new standards in operating systems. The organization, navigation, and search capabilities are all user friendly and fast. The tool bar and one click access are devised to speed up operations.
3. Instant search is expected to revolutionize the system. Search boxes are integral to many applications.
4. Desk top gadgets positioned on the right hand side of the screen will enable users to view sports scores, weather, and other interesting things while continuing to work on the main screen.
5. The Media Player is expected to have great new features like graphic interface, photo display, systematic organization, and compatibility with Xbox360 and other media players.
6. The internet explorer, aimed to be genx, is expected to have a new user interface, tabled browsing, search box, easy printing, tabs, zoom, and other on tab functions. The system hopes to have advanced security protection and improved web standards support.
7. State of art back up and restore functions will enable users to schedule back ups of files. The system is designed such that back ups are incremental and only new material is backed up saving space as well as making the system easy to use. The “complete PC backup” will create an image on the entire system onto the hard disk or a DVD. In case there is a break down the “complete pc backup” will recreate the entire system.
8. Outlook express has a new avatar, Windows Mail. And, according to those in the know the system is reliable and can actually filter junk mail.
9. Updates of software and security systems in the new system will be through a control panel. There will be no need for any web applications.
10. In Windows Vista parents can have greater say in what the children can use and access. This system is designed to protect kids from exposure to violence and porn.
11. Windows vista has features that will enable computer access through handhelds and mobiles even if the computer if off.
12. Vista has multiple language speech recognition which will allow dictation and activation of commands.
13. Gaming with Vista has raised expectations of avid gamers. New graphics, better display features, and ease of use means faster gaming and more thrills.”
14. The photo gallery in vista has great new applications. It will function as a photo and movie library and be compatible with all kinds of devices. In windows vista this will tag and rate photos, make adjustments in color and exposure, create effects and burn slideshows to DVDs.
15. The Vista DVD maker will create DVDs from existing content.
16. The system permits sharing of files and applications. Vista’s Windows Meeting space promoted P2P applications.
17. Vista is designed to think. Super Fetch a memory management strategy studies user usage and retains pages in accordance to popularity. High priority content is retained in memory by detection of troublesome memory usage patterns.
18. Windows Vista is expected to have a ready boost, a flash device that extends disk caching capabilities. This will enable use of USB 2.0 flash drives, SD cards, or compact flash cards. This innovation is expected to lend a performance level that is 8-10 times higher than at present.
19. A touch screen is expected to be a part of Vista.
20. Disk partitions in Vista are designed to prevent data loss.
21. The task manager as well as task scheduler in Vista is being revamped to provide better computing.
22. Extensive focus is on security which has been a problem with Microsoft operating systems. In Vista the aim is to provide security at all levels of operation and the system includes an advance security firewall, a defender, as well as a phishing filter among other security measures. The innovations are all set to give a new definition to windows security.
23. Vista’s premier interface, Windows Aero will lend 3D graphics, great animation, visual effects, and translucence to videos, games, and other applications that have graphics.
24. The Vista developer technologies are many and are expected to include .Net framework version 3.0, a new user interface system among others.
25. Vista based on a new interface will support many features like WIM image format, group policy settings, and network file systems, that will ease the working of businesses
While techies and others are waiting to see how Vista functions, in actuality there are several concerns surfacing regarding costs, user account control, hardware requirements, digital rights management, security, and the similarities to the Mac OS X.Labels: home edition, microsoft, vista, windows |
| posted by Hussain @ 5:31 AM |
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| Friday, March 2, 2007 |
| Laptop Selection |
When choosing a laptop, portability is often a key feature. When you are traveling with your laptop frequently, taking your laptop on planes and long drives makes weight (or lack of weight) extremely important. Certainly, no one wants to be carting a ten-pound monster of a laptop in and out of a car or across an airport in addition to everything else you have to carry.
Things to consider when buying an ultra-portable laptop:
• Price
• Features
• Weight of Additional Gear
• Battery life
The prices are steeper with the smaller models of notebook computers, and it increases with processing capabilities and functions such as a DVD/CD-RW drive for your data storage and playback needs, as well as a little entertainment on long trips. Your typical notebook computer packs enough punch to handle wireless networking and all the basic functions (like word processing and other simple programs) just like your desktop PC can. You also have to watch out for mobile laptops that require extra gear. Battery chargers and other cables and accessories should be factored into the weight if weight is indeed the issue for you. Battery life varies with the efficiency of the processor, so check out battery life in any reviews you read.
Best Reviewed Laptops
• Sony VAIO VGN-TX770P
• Toshiba Portege R200
• Averatec 1000
• Dell Latitude X1
Laptop manufacturers have seen the future, and are in a designing war to create the most mobile and smallest notebook computer. Product reviews place the Sony VAIO VGN-TX770P pretty firmly at the top of the list, and weighing in at just under three pounds, it certainly is portable. The VAIO has a great battery life, which is important, but is also one of the most expensive ultra-portable laptops available.
The Toshiba Portege is a little on the expensive side, but was designed with the speed and power for business travelers without the bells and whistles. The Portege does not have an internal CD/DVD drive, but keeps weight down to just over two and a half pounds.
The Averatec 1000 has a shorter battery life than the competition, but also has a much smaller price. It is the heaviest of the laptops listed here, weighing three and a half pounds, and has the largest hard drive at 80GB.
The last laptop we’re mentioning is the Dell Latitude X1, which is light at 2.5 pounds, and has good battery life. It is missing a PC Card slot and an internal optical drive, but for anyone looking to travel light, it is definitely worth a look.
Components to Think About There are several key components to a laptop that should be considered before any purchase. This is important because it is difficult, if not impossible, to upgrade many of these components in laptops. The primary components are:
• CPU (Central Processing Unit)
• Hard Drive
• RAM (Random Active Memory)
• Screen Size
• Port Types
• Optical Drive (CD, CD-RW, & DVD-RW)
• Removable Media (like a camera memory card)
• Batteries
• Video Card
• Touch Sensitive Mouse Pad
• Wireless Capability
The CPU, or central processing unit, is not upgradeable in most laptops. The CPU is high-powered enough in most laptops to function at a business level without spending extra for a more expensive chip. If you plan to watch videos or play games, however, you may need to find a computer with a faster processor. The most important factors of CPU’s in laptops are the balance between processor power and battery consumption, and heat output (the less heat, the better).
The hard drive is upgradable in a unique way: if by some strange twist of fate you manage to fill up the 60 plus GB that these featured laptops come with, you can purchase portable flash hard drives to store your extra material temporarily. Portable flash drives are thinner than a pencil, just wide enough for a USB connector, and can be shorter than a man’s thumb. A single GB is highly affordable, and up to ten GB are available for big spenders. Unless you are working extensively with digital media, however, this should not become a necessity.
The RAM in laptops is upgradable, and it is always a good investment to pack on the RAM. RAM is what stores data on what programs are running, helping them to continue to run.
The screen size is fixed for the most part, meaning it should be factored in to the purchase of your laptop. A smaller screen is harder to read, however if it is too big it affects portability. A fifteen-inch screen (measured diagonally) is pretty standard for a balance between size and resolution. A large screen or wide screen is advisable for watching DVDs or other video media.
The types of ports that your computer allows are important. Most laptops come standard with up to four USB ports, which are the most common types of port used today. If you have an older mouse that you intend to use with your laptop, remember to buy a USB adapter. USB ports make it much easier to connect peripheral gear.
The optical drive is a simple choice. If you do not want to use a CD drive in any of its variations, then you can find a smaller laptop for your use. If being able to store your data is important, at least look at a system with a CD-RW drive. If you need to backup a large amount of data, look for a laptop with a DVD-RW drive. This option will make your system heavier and more expensive. Some laptops also come standard with a place to insert your media card directly into the computer for fast photo access. This is only important to you if photography is part of your job.
The batteries that come with laptops now are much alike. The battery size matters less than the amount of power that the processor sucks up from it. If your laptop uses a lot of power, look into buying a spare battery so that you can switch them out when the power drops too low.
The video card is not upgradeable, so be sure that if you plan to play intensive games or watch a lot of movies you have a more powerful card. For the average business traveler, however, the card that comes standard is powerful enough.
Most laptops come with a touch sensitive mouse pad. Test it out to see if it is easy enough for you to use, and if you need the extra help then buy yourself a mouse. Just remember that you have to carry your mouse and mouse pad with you on trips.
Last up for consideration is the wireless capability. For a business traveler, it is often important to be able to network wirelessly and connect to the internet wirelessly when opportunities present themselves. A Centrino processor internally or a wireless LAN (local area network) card allow you to connect.Labels: laptop dell, Microprocessor, personal computer |
| posted by Hussain @ 5:07 AM |
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| Thursday, March 1, 2007 |
| Do We Really Need Windows Vista? |
Microsoft has just released its Vista operating system. There are many other analysts that will tell you that Vista requires new equipment and more memory to run efficiently and that it may have problems using current XP hardware or software. However, in this article I'll look at whether we actually need Vista, and at the possible hidden features that can make Vista useful to abusive governments and corporations.
The first question I want to ask is do we really need Vista? To answer this let me go back seven years. Windows 2000 Professional was Microsoft's first operating system that added enhanced networking technology to a desktop meant for the typical user. Microsoft's other year 2000 operating system called the Millennium was never very successful. In late 2001 Microsoft decided to use the 2000 Professional foundation and created a new system called Windows XP. They actually left off lot of the networking stuff that came with 2000 Professional on the XP Home Edition. In order to get the stuff they left off and some other things you had to buy XP Professional.
Here's the interesting thing. Most programs that run on XP also run on Windows 2000. Internet Explorer 7 (which still reportedly crashes a lot) can only run on XP but Internet Explorer 6 and Firefox run very well on Windows 2000. Most office and Internet software have no problem running on Windows 2000. You must remember what the purpose of an operating system really is. Its main purpose is to run user based software and Windows 2000 achieves this purpose with most current Windows software.
What did Windows XP do to make it better than Windows 2000? They claim better security with their Service Pack 2, but from the virus and spyware attacks that I've seen, it doesn't look like that helped. Things like memory management, more efficient use of modern processors, and better networking may be some of the hidden XP enhancements but service packs could add this type of functionality to Windows 2000.
There were many more things added to XP that can be described as bloat. They've added the famous nagging dialogs that warn you when you don't have an antivirus or your automatic updates are turned off. By default, Microsoft doesn't think you're smart enough to look at the files in Windows folders without destroying them, so they hide them and to view them you have to click "Show the contents of this folder." File extensions are even hidden by default. The Control Panel was simplified because Microsoft figured that your brain was too feeble to fathom the complexity of viewing it in the "Classic View." Lot of the dialogs that Microsoft added are actually insults to your intelligence. Do you really need the operating system telling you that "You have unused icons on your desktop?"
To make more money from its XP Operating System, Microsoft introduced activation. Activation means you can only use the system on one computer. The software won't work on computers other than the one it's activated for. Hackers soon beat the activation code. So Microsoft introduced "Windows Genuine Advantage" where your computer must prove that it's running genuine Windows before you can download any additional free software from Microsoft, including the Internet Explorer 7 browser or the new Media Players.
This just goes to show that Microsoft has been subtly restricting its operating system with the passage of time so that Microsoft, not the user, gets all the advantages.
Here's some review questions. Can Windows 2000 surf the Internet and play youtube movies? Yes. Can Windows 2000 run typical business software like Word, Excel, Access, Photoshop or Open Office? Yes. Can Windows 2000 run Power DVD software to play typical DVDs? Yes. Can Windows 2000 provide networking and file level access to network users? Yes. So why did we need XP in the first place? All we got was more nagging dialogs, activation, and Windows Genuine Advantage. Of course you must realize that as CPUs advance Microsoft will not support their advanced features on Windows 2000, but they could if they wanted to.
So for the last five years, what most users have done on Windows XP, they could've of done on Windows 2000. Microsoft forced most people to update because they hold a monopoly requiring new PC manufacturers to have their latest operating system pre-installed on all new PCs. Many people don't realize that Windows XP Home was really a downgrade from Windows 2000, and that they had to purchase Windows XP Professional to get about the same networking functionality as they originally had with Windows 2000.
Now the time has come for Vista. Vista has four versions: Vista Home, Vista Home Premium, Vista Business, and Vista Ultimate. If you are now running XP Professional and you "upgrade" to Vista Home you are actually being downgraded several levels. You probably need Vista Ultimate to get back the same features as your XP Professional had. It costs $259 to upgrade to Vista Ultimate, and $399 to install it on a new PC.
You can bet that Vista will have a lot more nagging dialogs and push you toward buying more Microsoft software like Office 2007 that you probably don't really need.
Did you know that the NSA (National Security Agency) helped design the security for Windows Vista? This is the same organization that helped the Bush Administration spy on U.S. citizens. Asking the NSA to help design Vista security is similar to asking the fox to help design the hen house. Along with Vista's activation code and the "backdoor" software added by the NSA, your Vista could be telling the corporate aliens that run the government exactly what you're thinking. Just imagine, you're a government employee and you surf to a site that criticizes the current administration. The next day you hear a knock at your door. It's the FBI; they've come to take you in for questioning. They were monitoring your on-line habits thanks to Vista.
No one knows what code lurks in Microsoft software, that's the problem. We don't actually know whether the NSA put any hidden code there. Using Vista the government can be eavesdropping on the population for years to come. Even if this doesn't happen, you can bet that Vista software is designed to keep giving Microsoft and its partners, and not the consumer, a growing advantage.
Consumers already lost the battle for open operating systems. There is practically no PC vendor in the United States that will sell a PC that does not have a Microsoft Operating System pre-installed. The exception is an Apple PC; then the Mac operating system, another proprietary system, is pre-installed. Think about it, people are not given a choice to install an open operating system like Linux. To be fair there should be no operating system installed on a new PC. You should buy a "systemless" PC, then choose the operating system you want and the store should install it for you before you take your PC home.
As long as PCs are pre-installed with XP or Vista very few people will ever switch to Linux. Most people aren't technically savvy enough to attempt to do the installation themselves. And even after the Linux is installed, it requires some getting used to for people who've worked with Windows all their lives.
The twenty first century is the century where greedy governments and corporations try to squeeze every penny from the working class to enrich their leadership. They're all looking for new ways to control us. Information Technology is creating new techniques for governments to track populations through closed Operating Systems like Vista. We can only be spared their watchful eye by embracing open source software like Linux. By being able to examine Linux code, experts throughout the world can say with much more certainty that there are no surprises placed there by enterprising governments or corporations.Labels: microsoft, vista, windows |
| posted by Hussain @ 5:00 AM |
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| Protect your Computer with Windows Vista |
There are number of security features in Windows Vista. Most of which are newly introduced in this version. Along with them old security features also available with some advanced protection mechanism.
UAC (User Account Control) is the most significant security update in Vista. With this feature, all users, including users with administrative privileges, run in a standard user mode by default. When any action require Administration privilege such as software installation or changing system setting, Windows prompts for Administrator authentication. This security implemented in Vista to protect your computer from malware software. If any of those malware softwares tries to change any setting or install any software in your system, they will be prompted for consent first. System administrators also have the option to configure the system to require an administrator password for such elevations.
Microsoft added another layer of security ‘Windows Defender’. Windows defender going to scan the system periodically to detect spyware, addition to that it includes Real Time Security Agents which is going to monitor the important settings of the systems if there any system configuration changes caused by spyware.
Windows vista introduced several parental controls. As an administrator it is possible to locking web content and limit web browsing to only Kids website. As well as controlling based on categories such as “Pornography” or “Chatting” and so on. Administrator can restrict other users from executing certain programs. Also there is option to restrict certain hours of the day when gaming or other activities are permitted.
It also introduced BitLocker Drive Encryption to protect data from a lost or stolen computer. There is a big threat of data theft or exposure from lost or stolen computer. Data on lost or stolen machines can often be viewed by installing a different operating system. BitLocker Drive Encryption is a hardware-enabled data protection feature that helps protect data on a PC when the machine is in unauthorized hands. By encrypting the entire Windows volume, it prevents unauthorized users from accessing Windows file and attempting the offline viewing of information on the secured drive.
The Encryption File System (EFS) is a powerful tool for encrypting information on client computers and remote file server to protect them from unauthorized users. EFS support storing user keys as well as administrative recovery keys on smart cards. If smart cards are used for logon, EFS operates in a Single Sign On mode, where it uses the logon smart card for file encryption without further prompting for the PIN. The Client Side Cache, which stores offline copies of files from remote servers, can also be encrypted with EFS.
Another way that malicious software makes its way onto a user’s machine is by taking advantage of buffer overruns. Address Space Layout Randomization (ASLR) is a defense capability in Windows Vista that makes it harder for malicious code to exploit a system function. Whenever a Windows Vista computer is rebooted, ASLR randomly assigns executable images such as DLLs and EXEs to one of 256 possible locations in memory. This makes it harder for exploit code to locate and therefore take advantage of functionality inside the executables.
It is very common in office environment that somehow malware got into one of the systems and from there malware spread into other systems in the local network. To avoid those circumstances vista introduced Network Access Protection(NAP) that performs computer health policy validation. Independent hardware and software vendors can plug their security solutions into NAP, so IT administrators can choose the security solutions that meet their unique needs — and NAP helps ensure that every machine on the network makes full use of those solutions.
Vista also includes the much improved Internet Explorer 7, which includes more than a dozen new security enhancements.Labels: laptop, vista, windows |
| posted by Hussain @ 4:35 AM |
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