Troubles with your PC???

'Blackouts' for users of pirated Windows coming your way

2008-08-27T22:18:00.003+08:00

PETALING JAYA: Starting Wednesday, users with pirated copies of Microsoft Corp's Windows XP Professional operating system (OS) on machines that are Internet-capable could find their computer displays going black and with no screen icons visible.

There are 8.6 million users of Win XP Pro in Malaysia and about three million are expected to suffer the “blackouts,” according to Microsoft Malaysia.

To continue working, the user would need to reset the machine’s desktop background. Everything will return to normal. But when 60 minutes are up, the black screen will reappear and the user must go through the whole process again.

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/8/26/nation/20080826201600

SAY NO TO PIRACY .... GET ORIGINAL

Basic Virus Removal Toolkit

2008-05-20T19:59:00.000+08:00

Is your computer suspected of "VIRUS INFECTION"??? Just follow this basic tutorial and your computer will just work fine.

First, you need to understand how a virus infects a thumbdrive from an infected computer. When a computer is infected, a process is created by the virus; will be running in the background. Whenever you plug in your thumbdrive and autorun is enabled, the virus will infiltrate your thumbdrive thus continuing the vicious cycle.

Step 1: Disable Autorun (Applicable to WinXP Pro & Vista)

Go to start > Run > type in gpedit.msc > Press Enter

Enable for all drives ... and you are done

Step 2: Tips to remove virus from thumbdrives

1) Download winrar or 7-zip (http://www.7-zip.org)
2) Plug in your thumbdrive into your computer

Go to start > all programs > 7-zip/winrar

Click on computer

Select Removable Drive

Del anything that end with .cmd .inf and probably .exe (if you do not know what file it is)

** Be sure that you know the content of your thumbdrive

Great Software to Introduce :)

2008-04-20T16:41:00.004+08:00

Iobit Advanced Windows Care Personal (FREEWARE)

100% Free Download

This comprehensive PC-care utility has a one-click approach to helping protect, repair and optimize your PC. Advanced WindowsCare Personal Edition helps protect, optimize, and repair your PC –– with daily use.

Extremely Easy to Use

Defends Your PC with 100% Freeware

Cleans your Windows

Keeps Your PC Running at Peak Performance

Fixes Multiple System Errors

Safe and 100% Free

Review by IT-Secure [ 4 STARS ]

Iobit Advanced Windows Care Personal is not the most comprehensive tool out there in the market. However, it has a user friendly interface ... I would believe anyone can use it. It is JUST A CLICK AWAY.

It considerably speeds up your computer in just one use. Personally, I have been using this program for all my computers at home. It had served me well all along. The personal edition did not get 5 stars because it did not include all the tweaks that is needed for good computer performance.

With regards to it as a Freeware, it is a good product worth trying.

Processing Technology - Part 1

2008-03-29T23:37:00.000+08:00

Hi there :)

With the ever increasing technologies available, it is really an uphill task to keep pace with it. I believe that some of you will be getting a new computer soon; esp the new Polytechnic students. A big question you will ask yourself ....

SHOULD I BUY IT FROM SCHOOL OR BUY IT OUTSIDE????

Before we begin to attempt that question, we should first understand the basic components of a computer.

Learning Objectives

- The technologies inside Intel® processors
- RAM and Graphics???
- Harddisk : IDE OR SATA

The technologies inside Intel® processors

Clockspeed (Measured in GHz) is a traditional way to identify and choose a processors.

NOW TIMES HAVE CHANGED ... There are many more factors to consider such as;

- L2 Cache
- Front Side Bus (FSB)
- Hyperthreading (HT) Technology
- Dual Core Technology

1.1 - L2 Cache

- Important component to improve overall computer performance

- Memory Storage Area where the computer places frequently accessed data
- RAM has a larger area than cache; however slow in accessing data
- Larger Cache = allow more data to be accessed faster storage area

1.2 - Clockspeed

- Still an important feature contributing to performance

- Faster Clockspeed = Execution of Instructions more quickly

1.3 - Front Side Bus

- Key Component in contributing to computer's overall performance

- Increase performance and responsiveness between processor to RAM and graphics

- Higher FSB = Application more responsive, improve performance

1.4 - Hyperthreading (HT) Technology VS Dual Core

Hyperthreading (HT) Technology enables 2 threads to be processed in a single core execution ; allowing partially parallel execution

Dual Core enables each thread to be processed in its own execution core (seperate thread) for truly parallel execution

IT Show 2008

2008-03-06T00:06:00.002+08:00

The time of the year has come again ... IT Show 2008 is here

With ever changing technology and faster processors, we can never catch up with it but however, whenever we have the means, we should try "upgrade" parts of our computers to make it more efficient

Here is a guide as to where to purchase certain items

> RAMs (Recommend Kingston) - Best Bargain Computers or Active Foto & Electronics
> Ext. Harddisk - Source around 6th floor for best deals (prices may vary frm shp to shp)

> Laptops and Desktops

Buy your laptops on the LAST DAY of the IT Show to get good deals. Prefably at around 7-9pm where most booths will try to sell off their products at a discounted rate. Furthermore, you can request for better upgrades rather than get the "free gifts" which are redundant in most cases.

What to ask for???

- Increase HDD Capacity
- Increase RAM
- Upgrade in OS
- 3 years warranty
- Reduce the product price further

SEE YOU ALL AT THE IT SHOW 2008 ... HAVE A GREAT DAY

Reformat Session @ Republic Polytechnic

2008-02-10T21:32:00.001+08:00

The First Ever Independent Reformat Session by IsaacHelpDesk@IT-Secure
[ Collaboration of IT-Secure & Muhammad Nur Hafiz Bin Khamsani ]

The Academic Year has come to an end ... As we prepare for the next Academic Year, we should keep our laptops in tip top condition. It is just like Spring Cleaning your house before Chinese New Year.

IT-Secure has came out with a hassle free solution to reformatting. No more Technical Details, CD Keys and IT Knowledge needed to reformat your laptop in future. Just one click of the button and everything is settled for you =D

** For more Information, View the Package Below

Details of Reformat Session

Venue: Republic Polytechnic
Time & Date: 13 February 2008 (Wed); 12pm onwards

Services and Products

Package Deal @ ONLY $5

- Drivers and Clean Format
- Includes BASIC Softwares for Republic Students (with Antivirus Solutions)
- Free Software Backup on Users Hard Disk
- Adding of School Domain
- Norton Ghost 11 and Norton Backup

Introduction about Norton Ghost

Norton Ghost is a Program used by most IT Professionals to backup data in order for quick retrieval in future.

In this Package Deal, You will be provided with a Norton Backup which includes:

- Laptop Drivers
- Dotnet Framework 1.0 and 2.0
- Internet Explorer 7
- Windows Media Player 11
- Microsoft Office 2007
- Tweak UI
- Windows Update (Till Feb 08')
- Performance Settings

Benefits of Norton Ghost

- NO MORE Technical Details on Reformatting (Jus one click and there goes)
- NO MORE installing of Drivers and Basic Softwares
- FAST Reformatting in Future...less than an hour and your system is ready to go

Msn Virus .... Running Wild?

2008-01-22T22:14:00.002+08:00

"HELP!!!! My Friend send me a VIRUS "

Recently, there have been several reports where people get infected over Msn. The latest virus is in the form of MS-DOS where u have to download and install an application in order to get infected.

Taken from http://every1smilez.blogspot.com/

Step by Step - Formatting Hard Disk (Part II)

2008-01-17T00:03:00.002+08:00

Step by Step - Formatting Hard Disk (Part II)

What would come to your mind when you think of the word "REFORMAT"? Technical as it may seem, reformatting is a handy tool; I would say it is a MUST to know.

Optional Software - KILLDISK - Downloadable from HERE

Why KILLDISK?
Active@ KillDisk - Hard Drive Eraser is powerful and compact software that allows you to destroy all data on hard and floppy drives completely, excluding any possibility of future recovery of deleted files and folders. It's a hard drive and partition eraser utility.

BIOS Configuration

Depending on your computer make, entering the BIOS is different.

- For most Acer and Fujitsu Laptops, it is pressing the F2 button @ Boot up
- For desktops, it is pressing either the F8 button or the del button

Find "Boot Sequence" and set it in this sequence

1st Sequence - CD ROM drive
2nd Sequence - Hard Drive
3rd Sequence - Floppy Drive

...... Save and Exit BIOS

If you have downloaded and burned KILLDISK, Place KillDisk CD into CD Drive, follow instructions to overwrite data

If you have a regular Windows XP (either Home or Professional Edition) disk, follow the steps below to reformat and reinstall.

- Place your Windows XP CD in your CD drive and restart your computer.
- Press a key on the keyboard when the "Press any key to boot from CD" prompt appears.

- Once the blue Windows XP Setup loads, press Enter at the Welcome to Setup screen.
- Press F8 at the next screen to accept the license agreement.
- Press Esc at the next screen to NOT attempt repair of your Windows partition.

For those who used KillDisk, this is NOT applicable to you
- At the next screen, use the up and down arrow keys to select your main partition
- Press D to delete the partition, and L to confirm your deletion.

- After deletion is complete, press C to create a New Partition
- Press Enter to install Windows to the un-partitioned space.
- At the next screen, select "Format the partition using the NTFS file system"
- Press Enter to begin the format.

After the partition has been formatted, the computer will reboot and begin installing Windows XP.

Reinstalling Windows XP

Once the computer reboots, it should load a screen with a blue background saying Windows XP at the top. On the left-hand side, there will be a checklist of tasks for the computer to complete and an estimated amount of time left. The installation process is fairly automated, but you will be required to input information at some places.

When the system install requires information from you, a gray window will appear. You will be asked to enter the following pieces of information:

Product Key (a serial number usually written on your Windows CD case or a sticker on the side of your computer)
Account username and password
Date and time
Network and other system settings (the default options for these are fine)

After the install completes, your computer will reboot and should load a brand-new version of Windows XP.

Credits: http://oregonstate.edu/resnet/guides/reformat.php

Step by Step - Formatting Hard Disk (Part I)

2008-01-12T14:13:00.000+08:00

Step by Step - Formatting Hard Disk (Part I)

This tutorial aims to be a guide for computer users to learn "How to reformat their Hard disk properly; thereafter optimizing it to prevent viruses and other spyware".

Every so often you should reformat your computer just to keep your computer running to the best of its ability.

Before We Start (Check List)

Before reformatting, you should first Back Up everything onto CD, DVD or any type of high capacity removable media.

You can use burning softwares such as:

- Nero 8
- Deep Burner (Free)
- CDBurnerXP (Free)

You should test the back up before you begin to uninstall everything in the computer to make sure there are no problems that will arise that you didn't expect.

Have all drivers and Operating System Disc (eg. XP CD)

Where can you get your computer's driver? It did not come with my computer ...

For Acer users, please visit Drivers and Downloads to download the necessary Drivers
For Fujitsu Users, please visit Support and Downloads to download the necessary Drivers

100% Must Drivers (A-Z)

- Audio Driver
- Graphic Card
- LAN Drivers
- Wireless LAN (For Laptops)

Ready to Reformat???

Eset Nod32 Server Down

2008-01-07T20:21:00.001+08:00

For those users using Eset Nod32, do note that the update servers are currently experiencing some difficulties.

When 'Manual Update' is done, the server will report that your virus definition is Up-To-Date; even if your version dates at 010108 (Rev.2759).

*Note that Eset Nod32 updates every few hours therefore the definition date should be according to the current date.

How do I Update My AntiVirus to the latest virus definition?

1) Go to the update tab and make sure that the Server is set to "Automatic"
2) Hit the "Update Now" button several times till it updates (Nod32 has more than 30 servers)

As of 070108 (2000hrs), the version should be Rev. 2769 ... Be Patient with the Servers

For More Information - http://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=196352

Virus Alert (201207)

2007-12-20T14:36:00.001+08:00

A virus has been spreading around and it cannot be detected by most commercial Antivirus such as Symantec, Eset Nod32 and Kaspersky.

Virus Information

Recycled --> Info.exe

How it propagates ?

When the user double clicks the infected drive, Info.exe in the recycled folder will be run via autorun.

File System Modifications

- %Windir%\Config\Svchost.exe (Virus.Win32.AutoRun.aim)
- %Windir%\Config\System.exe (Virus.Win32.AutoRun.aim)
- %Windir%\System.exe

Recycled & Autorun.inf created in every active drive.

Symptoms

- Unable to view "Hide protected operating system files (Recommended)"
- Probably transmits data over the network

Removal Instructions

1) Enter Task Manager, End process: System.exe
2) Download 7-zip from www.7-zip.org
3) Use 7-Zip to browse infected files in stated locations and delete them
4) Turn off System Restore
5) Run Virus Scan and remove all virus found

Alternative Removal Instruction (Advanced Users)

1) Enter Task Manager, End process: System.exe
2) Go to run, type Cmd
3) Type attrib -s -h C:\*.*
4) Delete Infected files in stated locations
5) Turn off System Restore
6) Run Virus Scan and remove all virus found
7) Run cmd and type attrib +s +h C:\*.*

Flash Drive for Sale

2007-12-15T23:27:00.001+08:00

Interface	USB1.1/Hi-Speed USB 2.0*1
Power supply voltage	Powered through USB port
Exterior dimensions	Approx.60.0mm(L)×20.0mm(W)×8.5mm(T) (including cap)
Weight	Approx.9g (main unit only)
Operating Environment	Operating temperature : 0-50°C Storage temperature : -20-65°C Operating and Storage humidity : 20-95%RH (no condensation)
Compatible Devices	Computers with USB Interface (A type) and operation has been confirmed in the following operating environments. · Windows® 2000 Professional · Windows® XP Professional · Windows® XP Home Edition · Windows Vista® Ultimate Operating System · Windows Vista® Enterprise Operating System · Windows Vista® Business Operating System · Windows Vista® Home Premium OS · Windows Vista® Home Basic Operating System · Mac OS 10.0.2 or later

Capacity	1GB
Usable memory capacity	Approx. 952MB

CHRISTMAS OFFER - $18^*

* 7 days - 1 to 1 Exchange if faulty
^ Price may Vary according to Demand and Supply

http://www.toshiba.co.jp/p-media/english/usb/trans-m/u2j-spec.htm

Removable Drive Cannot Open???

2007-12-13T10:21:00.001+08:00

Have You encountered a Situation Where Your Removable Drive Cannot Open after a Virus Attack? Today, you will learn how to SAVE YOUR REMOVABLE DRIVE

Step 1

Scan Your Removable Drive to remove Existing Viruses

Step 2

Go to My Computer >>> Tools >>> Folder Options

Step 3

Show Hidden Files and Folders
Untick "Hide protected operating system files"

Step 4

Type the Drive letter of the Removable Drive in the Address Bar

Step 5

Delete ALL Hidden Files & Autorun.inf

* After Step 1 - 5, Safely Remove your Removable Drive and Replug it into your computer

Computer Management

2007-12-11T09:29:00.003+08:00

Have you ever felt like SMASHING your computer??? It HANGS or takes eternity to load???

You really need to do something about it !!! Do not smash your computer or your $$$ will FLY.

Tips to enable a FAST and STABLE Computer

- Disable unused start up items
* Go to Start > Run > Type: Msconfig > Startup

- Clean Temporary Files (Download CCleaner HERE)

- Tweak your System (Download Iobit Advanced WindowsCare HERE)

- Run Registry Scan (Download Eusing Registry Cleaner HERE)

- Turn off System Restore to reset system restore points
* Right Click "My Computer" > Properties > System Restore > Turn Off System Restore

- De-Fragment your computer (Download Iobit Smart Defrag HERE)

Disclaimer and Copyright

2007-12-10T11:02:00.001+08:00

The following is the disclaimer for http://IT-Secure.blogspot.com

The information contained in this website is for general information purposes only. The Blogger makes no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the website or the information, products, services, or related graphics contained on the website for any purpose.

In no event will the Blogger be liable for any loss or damage including without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage, or any loss or damage whatsoever arising from loss of data or incorrect data arising out of, or in connection with, the use of this website.

Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk. Every effort is made to keep the website up and running smoothly. However, the Blogger takes no responsibility for, and will not be liable for, the website being temporarily unavailable due to technical issues beyond his control.

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