Microsoft Virus Detection/Removal Utility

Microsoft now has a malicious software removal tool that is able to remove the most virulent worms and viruses. The tool is updated once a month and is part of Microsoft's scheduled software patch cycle.
The initial version of the tool was able to detect and remove Blaster, Sasser, MyDoom, DoomJuice, Zindos, Berweb/Download.Ject, Gailbot and Nachi viruses. The tool will be downloaded and run automatically if your computer has 'Automatic Updates' enabled. It can also be executed manually from Microsoft's site as an ActiveX control in the Internet Explorer browser. You can also download the tool from Microsoft's Download Center.
For more information, see the following MSKB 890830 ("The Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool helps remove specific, prevalent malicious software from computers that are running Windows Server 2003, Windows XP, or Windows 2000")

How to Upgrade Your BIOS

Every now and then computer/motherboard manufactures will release an upgrade to the BIOS (Basic Input/Output System). The BIOS is a program that is loaded into your computer's memory when it is turned on so that it can load the OS from your hard drive. Motherboard manufactures upgrade the BIOS to fix problems and/or add new features.

To upgrade your motherboards BIOS (this process is know as 'Flashing'), you generally will have to download boot image for a floppy or CD which is use to flash the new software into your computer's BIOS. As a general rule of thumb, I would not recommend performing this upgrade unless you have to.

This operation does come with some risk, if you lose power or the upgrade program fails to complete the install properly you can disable your motherboard. Performing this operation should not be taken lightly because of the risks involved.

Since this operation will vary from motherboard manufacture to motherboard manufacture, below is a brief outline of what you should expect:

• It is very important to follow the manufacturer's installation instructions and warnings. This information is generally contained in a file called 'README.TXT'.
• Download the latest version of the BIOS from the manufacturer's web site. Note: it is recommended that if the BIOS flash utilities supports backing up the current BIOS that you utilize this feature.
• It is also recommended that you download the current version of the BIOS that you have installed in your computer. This will give you an alternate method of recover if you need it.
• Create the boot floppy or CD per the instructions, and reboot your computer with the new media that you just created. Remember to follow the installation instructions.
• Once the upgrade is complete, remove the media and reboot your computer.

During the initial boot up of your computer, you should see the new version of the BIOS you just installed quickly display across your screen so look quick.

differences between the Windows Update and Microsoft Update

Do you know the differences between the Windows Update and Microsoft Update web sites? I am not sure if most people even realize there is a difference between these two services. For the most part they look very similar, but there are some key differences between them.

The older Windows Update service only allowed you to update the Windows OS with hot fixes. If you had Microsoft Office installed on your computer, then you would need to go to the Office Update site to update these applications.

Fairly recently Microsoft merged the two sites (Windows Update and Office Update) to create the new Microsoft Update web site. Now you can go to one site and keep your Microsoft Windows and Office applications up-to-date with the latest hot fixes.

As I said earlier, the two sites look very similar, but the way you tell the difference between the sites is by looking in the upper left-hand corner of the browser after you have gone to the Windows Update web site. If it says 'Windows Update', then you're on the 'Windows Update' site. If it says 'Microsoft Update', then you're on the 'Microsoft Update' site.

If you're using the Windows Update site and want to start using the Microsoft Update site instead, go to the following page and press the 'Start Now' button.

Diff between Windows Messenger vs. MSN Messenger

Both Windows Messenger and MSN Messenger are Instant Messaging (IM) client applications. Although there are some distinct differences between the two applications:

• Windows Messenger is an IM client designed for use in a business environment. This client is designed to communicate with Microsoft's Office Live Communications Server 2005 server, as well as communicating with MSN Messenger. Windows Messenger communications is also encrypted. (For more information)
• MSN Messenger is designed for use as a consumer IM client application, that can only communicate with the MSN Messenger Service. Communications with this client is not encrypted, as they are with Windows Messenger. (For more information)

Download:

• Windows Messenger
• MSN Messenger

Diff between Remote Desktop vs Remote Assistance

When you first learn about 'Remote Desktop' and 'Remote Assistance', you might wonder the difference between the two services. Both applications allow you to remotely control a PC from any where on your local or corporate network, and even over the Internet. Although there are some important differences between these two services.

The Remote Desktop service is only available as part of Windows XP Professional Edition. This service allows you to take control of the remote computer without first requesting access. To do this you have to have administrator rights on the local machine. Once logged in you will have complete control of the local computer.

The Remote Assistance is part of Windows XP Professional and Home Editions. To use this service the PC user has to make a request to you to be able to connect to the remote computer. Once you respond to the request, you will see the remote users desktop. This service requires you have Windows Messenger or MSN Messenger installed on your computer to receive the remote assistance request.

To enable the Remote Desktop or Remote Assistance services:

• Open the Control Panel.
• Double-click the System control panel.
• Click on the Remote tab.
• Check the Remote Desktop and/or Remote Assistance checkboxes.
• Press the OK button when done.

How to Avoid Re-Activate Windows XP After a Reinstallation

Whenever you first install Windows XP, you have to activate it over the Internet or by calling Microsoft customer support on the phone. So if you ever need to re-install Windows XP because of some type of system failure, then at a later time you would have to re-activate it again.

To avoid having to do this, all you have to do is backup a single file before destroying your old copy of Windows off your hard drive. Then after you finish installing a new copy of Windows XP, all you have to do is restore the file that you had backed up.

• Copy the following file (c:\windows\system32\wpa.dbl) to some type of removable media (i.e.: floppy, USB drive, CD , or DVD).

Note: If you change any of your hardware before copying this file back to your new installation of Windows XP, you may have to reactivate your copy of Windows.

How to Choosing a Strong Password

Password security is going the way of the dodo. As computers become more and more faster, a programmer’s ability to write programs to guess your password is becoming easier. The great thing about passwords is the only software/hardware requirement is a keyboard, which is a requirement for using a computer. Although, the main problem with passwords is that they can be cracked.

There are lots of technologies promising to replace the password, but the only one that has made it somewhat mainstream is fingerprint scanners. These devices are not perfect and there is no universal set of hardware/software standards that all computers can use to access these devices. I believe this is the greatest obstacle preventing adoption of this technology.

Choosing a Strong Password
Although there is some good news, if you create a strong password and change it on regular intervals you can thwart most people’s ability to crack your password. Remember that passwords are your primary front line defense for protecting most of your personal and financial data.

You might have heard the term ‘strong password’ but might not be sure what it means. Basically a strong password is one that is difficult to guess. The attributes that characterize a strong password are:

• Words not found in the dictionary.
• Never use names of people, places, animals or things. Also avoid using words formed from personal information about yourself (such as your name, address, pet's name, spouse's name, etc.)
• Composed of 8 or more characters (Note: the longer the password, the tougher it is to crack).
• Composed of numbers (0-9), upper and lowercase letters (a-z, A-Z), and punctuation marks (!#$%!$%^&*). Try to substitute punctuation and numbers for letters.

For example a hard to guess password might look like: A1467!bnc@. To make a password easy to remember, pick a common word then change characters in that word with numbers and symbols: P@ssW0rd or M1cr0S0f+.

Password Handling
The biggest problems with passwords are that they can be tough to remember, the more complex the password (or the number them you have to remember). If you know that you can’t remember all them, it might be a good time to find a password manager that you trust to help you manage them.

Microsoft Calculator Plus

The calculator that comes with Windows can perform some basic mathematic functions. If you want to perform more complex calculations, all you have to do is select Scientific from the View menu.

Although if you want something more powerful, Microsoft recently updated this program, its now called 'Calculator Plus'. This calculator includes an updated look, and conversion functions, which includes measurement, and currency conversions.

Set What how much Hours User Can Login

You can use the 'Net User' command to configure the day and the time when a user can log on to a computer. For example, you could permit a user named Fred to only log on to a computer between the hours of 10am and 3pm Monday-Wednesday.

• From the Run... command, type "CMD" and press enter,
• At the MS-DOS console, type "net user fred /time:M-W, 10:00-15:00"

For more information NET USER command see this MSKB (Microsoft Knowledge Base Article).

Note: If the user is already logged into the computer during the restricted time, they're not prevented from using the computer.

How to Manage System Restore Disk Usage

The Windows System Restore feature is designed to help you recover after a software installation failure or configuration changed that prevents your computer from booting. By default, new restore points are created after a system change, or every 24 hours. Also by default, the system restore points can consume up to 12% of the space on your hard drive.

To change the amount of disk space that is reserved for system restore points, follow the instructions below:

• Right-click on My Computer under the Start menu, and select Properties.
• Click the System Restore tab.
• Move the slider to change the amount of disk space used by the System Restore feature, or check the 'Turn off System Restore' check box to disable this feature
• Press the OK button.

How to Add A Photo To MyComputer Properties?

1. Open Notepad
2. Type the following:
[General]
Manufacturer=”your_name
[Support Information]
Line1= http://www.blogger.com
Line2= visit http://dhanabalonline.blogspot.com for more info
3. Save as “oeminfo.ini” in the System32 folder.(Without Quote)
4. Create a bmp file(Your Photo) and save it the System32folder as “oemlogo.bmp“(Without Quote).The size of the image should be within 180 (wide) x120 (high) pixels
5. Now Check your My Computer Properties.
It’s tested and working

File System Alignment

"Allocation Unit Size" is also known as cluster size, allocation unit size is the smallest amount of hard disk space that windows uses to hold a file. Generally, smaller allocation unit sizes result in more efficient use of hard disk space. You can specify the allocation unit size when you format a hard disk drive. If you don't specify a size, windows defaults to a size based on the size of the volume. Use format /A: at the command prompt to override the default allocation unit size, where can be 512, 1024, 2048, 4096, 8192, 16K, 32K, and 64K for FAT, FAT32, and NTFS. FAT and FAT32 also support 128K and 256K for sector sizes greater than 512 bytes. You can't use NTFS compression for allocation unit sizes larger than 4096 bytes.

To improve the performance of your disk drive subsystem, consider matching the file system Allocation Unit Size to the block size of the application you are using. For example, suppose SQL Server is using a 4KB block size. When you format a file system on a new disk drive, launch Disk Administrator, create the partition, commit the partition changes, select Format, and then set the Allocation Unit Size to 4096 bytes. Matching the file system block sizes can improve the efficiency of the disk transfers when you use the application.

For example, if you have four 4KB blocks of data to write to the disk and the disk is slightly fragmented, you might end up with eight separate 2KB writes to disk on a file system created with a 2KB Allocation Unit Size. When reading this file, the disk heads subsequently have to move to eight random locations. If you use a 4KB Allocation Unit Size, NT Server has to write to disk four times, and thus the disk heads have to move four separate times to complete a read of the data. Test your particular Allocation Unit Size configuration to determine your optimum file system layout, because each application and disk subsystem environment is a little different.

How to Add a Name Server

To identify an additional name server:

1.     Start the DNS snap-in.       
2.     Click the DNS Server object for your server in the left pane of the console, and then expand the server object to expand the tree.       
3.     Expand Forward Lookup Zones.       
4.     Under Forward Lookup Zones, right-click the zone that you want (for example, example.com), and then click Properties.       
5.     Click the Name Servers tab, and then click Add.       
6.     In the Server fully qualified domain name (FQDN) box, type the host name of the server that you want to add. For example, type namesvr2.example.com.       
7.     In the IP address box, type the IP address of the Name server that you want to add (for example, type 192.168.0.22), and then click Add.       
8.     Click OK, and then click OK to return to the DNS window.       
9.     Expand Reverse Lookup Zones, right-click the zone that you want, and then click Properties.       
10.    Click the Name Servers tab, and then click Add.       
11.    In the Server fully qualified domain name (FQDN) box, type the host name of the server that you want to add. For example, type namesvr2.example.com.       
12.    In the IP address box, type the IP address of the Name server that you want to add (for example, type 192.168.0.22), and then click Add.       
13.    Click OK, and then click OK again to return to the DNS window.    

How to Add an MX Record

An MX (or "Mail Exchanger") record is used to identify a host computer as a Simple Mail Transport Protocol (SMTP)/Post Office Protocol (POP3) server. To add an MX record, follow these steps. Note that you must first create the "A" record for the mail server host.

1.    Start the DNS snap-in.       
2.    Click the DNS Server object for your server in the left pane of the console, and then expand the server object to expand the tree.       
3.    Expand Forward Lookup Zones.       
4.    Right-click the zone that you want (for example, example.com), and then click New Mail Exchanger (MX).       
5.    In the Fully qualified domain name (FQDN) of mail server box, type the fully qualified domain name of the host computer that acts as the mail server. For example, type mail.example.com.       
6.    Click OK.    

How to Add a CNAME

A CNAME (or "Canonical Name") is an alias or an additional host name that is resolved to the IP address of an existing host computer in the DNS namespace. For example, if you use the same computer as both a Web server and an FTP server, you may want to resolve both the WWW host name and the FTP host name to the same IP address. Using a CNAME, you can resolve both names to the same IP address.
To create a CNAME:
1.
Start the DNS snap-in.
2.
Click the DNS Server object for your server in the left pane of the console, and then expand the server object to expand the tree.
3.
Expand Forward Lookup Zones.
4.
Under Forward Lookup Zones, right-click the zone that you want (for example, example.com), and then click New Alias (CNAME).
5.
In the Alias name box, type the alias that you want. For example, type ftp.
6.
In the Fully qualified name (FQDN) for target host box, type the fully qualified host name of the host computer that you want. For example, type www.example.com, and then click OK.

How to Create a Host Record

To create a host or "A" record:

1. Start the DNS snap-in.
2. Click the DNS Server object for your server in the left pane of the console, and then expand the server object to expand the tree.
3. Expand Forward Lookup Zones.
4. Under Forward Lookup Zones, right-click the zone that you want (for example, example.com), and then click New Host (A).
5. In the Name (uses parent domain name if blank) box, type the name of the host that you want to add. For example, if you want to add a host record for a Web server, type www.
6. In the IP address box, type the IP address of the host that you want to add. For example, type 192.168.0.100.
7. Select the Create associated pointer (PTR) record check box, and then click Add Host. You receive a message similar to the following:
The host record www.example.com was successfully created.
Click OK.
8. When you are finished adding hosts, click Done.

How to Modify the Reverse Lookup Zone Properties

To modify or verify the zone properties:

1. Start the DNS snap-in.
2. Click the DNS Server object for your server in the left pane of the console, and then expand the server object to expand the tree.
3. Expand Reverse Lookup Zones.
4. Under Reverse Lookup Zones, right-click the zone that you want (for example, 102.168.0.x Subnet), and then click Properties.
5. In the Allow dynamic updates list, click Yes.
6. Click the Start of Authority (SOA) tab.
7. In the Responsible person box, type the e-mail address that you want (in the format of "username.domain.com"). For example, if the e-mail address is support@example.com, type support.example.com.
8. Click Apply, and then click OK.

How to Create a Reverse Lookup Zone

To create a new reverse lookup zone:

1. Start the DNS snap-in.
2. Click the DNS Server object for your server in the left pane of the console, and then expand the server object to expand the tree.
3. Expand Reverse Lookup Zones.
4. Right-click Reverse Lookup Zones, and then click New Zone. The New Zone Wizard starts. Click Next to continue.
5. Click Primary zone, and then click Next.
6. In the Network ID box, type the network ID. For example, type 192.168.0, and then click Next. NOTE: The network ID is that portion of the TCP/IP address that pertains to the network. For additional information about TCP/IP networks, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
164015 Understanding TCP/IP Addressing and Subnetting Basics
7. On the Zone File page, click Next
8. Click Next.
9. Click Finish.
The new zone is listed under Reverse Lookup Zones in the DNS tree.