Saturday
HTTP and The Web (Internet)
When you say, 'the Internet,' what comes to mind for most people is, in fact, the World Wide
Web. The World Wide Web, or just the Web, is not the Internet. Instead, it is a method of using
the Internet to exchange information between computers. The Web uses http or hypertext
transfer protocol and services known as web browsers and web servers to allow information in
the form of web pages to be exchanged between local and remote computers.
On the local side, what you see is the web browser. Information from the remote computer is
sent to your local computer using the http protocol. The web browser interprets that
information and displays it on your local computer in the form of web pages.
The hypertext part of the http protocol refers to a non-linear method of presenting
information. Text is normally read in a linear fashion: word 2 follows word 1; sentence 3 follows
sentence 2; paragraph 5 follows paragraph 4. The idea of hypertext allows information to be
viewed in a non-linear way. This is the major difference between hypertext and the older,
plain text methods of displaying information.
With hypertext, words and ideas can connect, not only with the words that directly surround
them, but also with other words, ideas or images. Hypertext is not restricted to the Web. Most
full-featured word processors will allow you to create locally stored pages in web or http
format. These pages are read using your web browser and act as would any other web page,
only they are stored on your local computer, not a remote computer
On your local Http and The Web Http and The Web computer, you use a client program called a web browser. Contrary to what
you might have been lead to believe, there are actually a number of web browsers available
for both Windows and Linux. These include Microsoft's Internet Explorer, Netscape Navigator,
and the Mozilla Firefox browsers.
You can also create your own web page. The easiest way to do this is to use one of the
common word processors, such as Open Office, Microsoft Word, or WordPerfect. These
programs will allow you to produce simple web pages, combining text, hypertext and images
Plenty of people have made useful, clever and innovative web pages using these simple
tools.
But these pages aren't flashy. Flashy means frames and scripts and animations. It also means
spending lots of money on a fancy web page design program. These programs allow you to
create many interesting effects on your web page, but they are more complex to use than
the word processors that you are probably already familiar with.
Once you have the pages designed, you'll need a computer to put them on, so that other
people can view them. This is called web hosting.
The hosting computer will be running a web server. It is possible to run one of these servers
from your own home, using your own computer, but there are several drawbacks, the primary
one of these being persistence. Information stored on a web server is only available when
that server is powered up, operating properly and has an open connection. So, if you want to
run a web server from your own bedroom, you have to leave your computer on all the time;
you have to make sure that the web server program is operating properly all the time (this
includes troubleshooting hardware problems, controlling viruses, worms and other attacks,
and dealing with the inevitable bugs and flaws within the program itself), and you have to
keep a connection to the Internet open. This is why most people pay someone else to do all
this.
A web hosting company will store your web page on their computer. A perfect web hosting
company will have multiple, redundant servers and a regular backup policy, so that your
service is not lost because of hardware problems, a support staff to keep the server running
despite hacker attacks and program bugs, and a number of open connections to the
Internet, so that all your have to do is design your web page, upload it to the hosting
company's server, hang up the phone, turn off the computer, and go to sleep, and your web
page will be available to the entire world.
It's also possible to find organizations that offer free web hosting. Some of these organizations
are funded by paid advertising, which means that anyone who wants to view your web page
will first have to view someone else's advertisement. But they don't have to buy anything, and
you don't have to pay anything.
Web. The World Wide Web, or just the Web, is not the Internet. Instead, it is a method of using
the Internet to exchange information between computers. The Web uses http or hypertext
transfer protocol and services known as web browsers and web servers to allow information in
the form of web pages to be exchanged between local and remote computers.
On the local side, what you see is the web browser. Information from the remote computer is
sent to your local computer using the http protocol. The web browser interprets that
information and displays it on your local computer in the form of web pages.
The hypertext part of the http protocol refers to a non-linear method of presenting
information. Text is normally read in a linear fashion: word 2 follows word 1; sentence 3 follows
sentence 2; paragraph 5 follows paragraph 4. The idea of hypertext allows information to be
viewed in a non-linear way. This is the major difference between hypertext and the older,
plain text methods of displaying information.
With hypertext, words and ideas can connect, not only with the words that directly surround
them, but also with other words, ideas or images. Hypertext is not restricted to the Web. Most
full-featured word processors will allow you to create locally stored pages in web or http
format. These pages are read using your web browser and act as would any other web page,
only they are stored on your local computer, not a remote computer
On your local Http and The Web Http and The Web computer, you use a client program called a web browser. Contrary to what
you might have been lead to believe, there are actually a number of web browsers available
for both Windows and Linux. These include Microsoft's Internet Explorer, Netscape Navigator,
and the Mozilla Firefox browsers.
 |
| HTTP |
You can also create your own web page. The easiest way to do this is to use one of the
common word processors, such as Open Office, Microsoft Word, or WordPerfect. These
programs will allow you to produce simple web pages, combining text, hypertext and images
Plenty of people have made useful, clever and innovative web pages using these simple
tools.
But these pages aren't flashy. Flashy means frames and scripts and animations. It also means
spending lots of money on a fancy web page design program. These programs allow you to
create many interesting effects on your web page, but they are more complex to use than
the word processors that you are probably already familiar with.
Once you have the pages designed, you'll need a computer to put them on, so that other
people can view them. This is called web hosting.
The hosting computer will be running a web server. It is possible to run one of these servers
from your own home, using your own computer, but there are several drawbacks, the primary
one of these being persistence. Information stored on a web server is only available when
that server is powered up, operating properly and has an open connection. So, if you want to
run a web server from your own bedroom, you have to leave your computer on all the time;
you have to make sure that the web server program is operating properly all the time (this
includes troubleshooting hardware problems, controlling viruses, worms and other attacks,
and dealing with the inevitable bugs and flaws within the program itself), and you have to
keep a connection to the Internet open. This is why most people pay someone else to do all
this.
 |
| HTTP Clint Machine |
A web hosting company will store your web page on their computer. A perfect web hosting
company will have multiple, redundant servers and a regular backup policy, so that your
service is not lost because of hardware problems, a support staff to keep the server running
despite hacker attacks and program bugs, and a number of open connections to the
Internet, so that all your have to do is design your web page, upload it to the hosting
company's server, hang up the phone, turn off the computer, and go to sleep, and your web
page will be available to the entire world.
It's also possible to find organizations that offer free web hosting. Some of these organizations
are funded by paid advertising, which means that anyone who wants to view your web page
will first have to view someone else's advertisement. But they don't have to buy anything, and
you don't have to pay anything.
Thursday
Types of Passwords
There are three main types of Passwords.
Strings of Characters
Strings of characters the most basic level of passwords(strings of characters,numbers and symbols).Access to a keyboard or keypad allows entry of these types of passwords. These passwords are simplest. To the more complicated combinations of characters,numbers and symbols that are recommended for protecting highly confidential information.
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| Password Forgot ? |
Strings of Characters Plus a Token
The next level in password is to require a string of characters,numbers and symbols plus a token of some type,Ex.ATM which requires a card , The token plus a personal identification number or pin.
Biometric Passwords
Biometric Passwords this is the use of non-reproducible biological features, such as fingerprints or facial features to allow access. Ex retinal scan ,In which the retina which is the interior surface of the back of the eye is photographed. The retina contains a unique pattern of blood vessels that are easily seen and this pattern is compared to a reference. Biometric passwords are the most sophisticated and are considered “safer” but in reality a password that you 'carry' in your finger or eye is no safer than a strong password that you carry in your mind.
Build A Strong Password
The best passwords:
- Cannot be found in a dictionary
- Contain numbers,letters and those odd swear symbols on top of the numbers
- Contain upper and lower case letters
- The Longer the “Stronger”.
With a 2 letter password, and 26 letters in the alphabet,plus 10 numbers there are 236 possible combination(687,000,000) possibilities. Increase the password length to 8 characters, and there are 836 combination . You can calculate how many combination of 8 characters.(324 *100000000000)
There are many password generators available on the Internet,but these will generate a nearly impossible to remember password.
Try to use strings of letters or numbers that you can easily recall.
Goliw3b!(goli with 3 bears!)
SlS8w30(shirt (size) L ,souse size 8,pant west 30)
Wednesday
Web Application Problems
Common web application problems are classified below
- Authentication These are the identification and authorization mechanisms used to be certain that the person or computer using the web application is the correct person to be using it .
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| Authentication |
- Non-Repudiation : A record that proves that the data sent to or from the web application was really sent and where.
- Confidentiality : A way to assure that communication with the web application cannot be listened in on by another person.
- Privacy : A Way to assure that the way you contact and communicate with the web application cannot be per-determined by another person.
- Indemnification :These are ways to assure that the web application has legal protection or at the least, can be financially protected with insurance.
- Integrity : This is a record of the validity of the communication with the web application to assure that what is sent and then received by the other is the same thing and if it changed, both the web pplication
and the user have a record of the change.
Monday
Proxy methods for Web Application Manipulation
There are several steps that can be taken to protecting your server. These include ensuring
that your software is always updated and patched with any security updates that are
available from the manufacturer. This includes ensuring that your OS and web servers are
updates as well. In addition, Firewalls and Intrusion detections systems can help protect your
server, as discussed
Firewalls
Firewalls originally were fireproof walls used as barriers to prevent fire from spreading, such as
between apartment units within a building. The same term is used for systems (hardware and
software) that seeks to prevent unauthorized access of an organization's information. Firewalls
are like security guards that, based on certain rules, allow or deny access to/from traffic that
enters or leaves an organization (home) system. They are important systems safe guards that
seek to prevent an organization’s system from being attacked by internal or external users. It is
the first and most important security gate between external and internal systems.
Firewalls are generally placed between the Internet and an organization’s information system.
The firewall administrator configures the firewall with rules allowing or denying information
packets from entering into or leaving the organization.
The rules are made using a combination of Internet Protocol (IP) address and Ports; such rules
are made depending on the organization needs e.g. in a school, students are allowed in
based on identity card.
The rule to the security guard in a school would be to allow all persons that carry a valid
identity card and deny everyone else. However the security guard would have another rule
for exiting from the school; the rule would be to allow everyone exit except small children
unless accompanied by adults. A similar system is followed for firewall configuration
depending on the nature of the organization, the criticality of information asset, cost of
security, security policy and risk assessment.
The firewall just like a security guard cannot judge the contents of the information packet; just
like the guard allows all persons with a valid identity card irrespective of nature of the persons,
firewall allows entry or exit based mainly on IP address and Port numbers. Hence an entry or
exit is possible by masking IP address or Port. To mitigate this risk, organizations use Intrusion
Detection System, which is explained in the next section.
There are various kinds of firewall depending on the features that it has viz. packet filter
(operates on IP packets), stateful firewall (operates based connection state) or application
firewall (using proxy).
Example of a firewall rule could be: Block inbound TCP address 200.224.54.253 from port 135.
(An imaginary example); such rule would tell a computer connected to Internet to block any
traffic originating from the computer with an IP address 200.224.54.253 using Port 135.
Important activities relating to firewalls are initial configuration (creating initial rules), system
maintenance (additions or change in environment), review of audit logs, acting on alarms
and configuration testing.More
that your software is always updated and patched with any security updates that are
available from the manufacturer. This includes ensuring that your OS and web servers are
updates as well. In addition, Firewalls and Intrusion detections systems can help protect your
server, as discussed
Firewalls
 |
| Firewalls |
Firewalls originally were fireproof walls used as barriers to prevent fire from spreading, such as
between apartment units within a building. The same term is used for systems (hardware and
software) that seeks to prevent unauthorized access of an organization's information. Firewalls
are like security guards that, based on certain rules, allow or deny access to/from traffic that
enters or leaves an organization (home) system. They are important systems safe guards that
seek to prevent an organization’s system from being attacked by internal or external users. It is
the first and most important security gate between external and internal systems.
Firewalls are generally placed between the Internet and an organization’s information system.
The firewall administrator configures the firewall with rules allowing or denying information
packets from entering into or leaving the organization.
The rules are made using a combination of Internet Protocol (IP) address and Ports; such rules
are made depending on the organization needs e.g. in a school, students are allowed in
based on identity card.
The rule to the security guard in a school would be to allow all persons that carry a valid
identity card and deny everyone else. However the security guard would have another rule
for exiting from the school; the rule would be to allow everyone exit except small children
unless accompanied by adults. A similar system is followed for firewall configuration
depending on the nature of the organization, the criticality of information asset, cost of
security, security policy and risk assessment.
The firewall just like a security guard cannot judge the contents of the information packet; just
like the guard allows all persons with a valid identity card irrespective of nature of the persons,
firewall allows entry or exit based mainly on IP address and Port numbers. Hence an entry or
exit is possible by masking IP address or Port. To mitigate this risk, organizations use Intrusion
Detection System, which is explained in the next section.
There are various kinds of firewall depending on the features that it has viz. packet filter
(operates on IP packets), stateful firewall (operates based connection state) or application
firewall (using proxy).
Example of a firewall rule could be: Block inbound TCP address 200.224.54.253 from port 135.
(An imaginary example); such rule would tell a computer connected to Internet to block any
traffic originating from the computer with an IP address 200.224.54.253 using Port 135.
Important activities relating to firewalls are initial configuration (creating initial rules), system
maintenance (additions or change in environment), review of audit logs, acting on alarms
and configuration testing.More
Proxy methods for Web Application Manipulation
There are several steps that can be taken to protecting your server. These include ensuring
that your software is always updated and patched with any security updates that are
available from the manufacturer. This includes ensuring that your OS and web servers are
updates as well. In addition, Firewalls and Intrusion detections systems can help protect your
server, as discussed
Firewalls
Firewalls originally were fireproof walls used as barriers to prevent fire from spreading, such as
between apartment units within a building. The same term is used for systems (hardware and
software) that seeks to prevent unauthorized access of an organization's information. Firewalls
are like security guards that, based on certain rules, allow or deny access to/from traffic that
enters or leaves an organization (home) system. They are important systems safe guards that
seek to prevent an organization’s system from being attacked by internal or external users. It is
the first and most important security gate between external and internal systems.
Firewalls are generally placed between the Internet and an organization’s information system.
The firewall administrator configures the firewall with rules allowing or denying information
packets from entering into or leaving the organization.
The rules are made using a combination of Internet Protocol (IP) address and Ports; such rules
are made depending on the organization needs e.g. in a school, students are allowed in
based on identity card.
The rule to the security guard in a school would be to allow all persons that carry a valid
identity card and deny everyone else. However the security guard would have another rule
for exiting from the school; the rule would be to allow everyone exit except small children
unless accompanied by adults. A similar system is followed for firewall configuration
depending on the nature of the organization, the criticality of information asset, cost of
security, security policy and risk assessment.
The firewall just like a security guard cannot judge the contents of the information packet; just
like the guard allows all persons with a valid identity card irrespective of nature of the persons,
firewall allows entry or exit based mainly on IP address and Port numbers. Hence an entry or
exit is possible by masking IP address or Port. To mitigate this risk, organizations use Intrusion
Detection System, which is explained in the next section.
There are various kinds of firewall depending on the features that it has viz. packet filter
(operates on IP packets), stateful firewall (operates based connection state) or application
firewall (using proxy).
Example of a firewall rule could be: Block inbound TCP address 200.224.54.253 from port 135.
(An imaginary example); such rule would tell a computer connected to Internet to block any
traffic originating from the computer with an IP address 200.224.54.253 using Port 135.
Important activities relating to firewalls are initial configuration (creating initial rules), system
maintenance (additions or change in environment), review of audit logs, acting on alarms
and configuration testing.More
that your software is always updated and patched with any security updates that are
available from the manufacturer. This includes ensuring that your OS and web servers are
updates as well. In addition, Firewalls and Intrusion detections systems can help protect your
server, as discussed
Firewalls
Firewalls originally were fireproof walls used as barriers to prevent fire from spreading, such as
between apartment units within a building. The same term is used for systems (hardware and
software) that seeks to prevent unauthorized access of an organization's information. Firewalls
are like security guards that, based on certain rules, allow or deny access to/from traffic that
enters or leaves an organization (home) system. They are important systems safe guards that
seek to prevent an organization’s system from being attacked by internal or external users. It is
the first and most important security gate between external and internal systems.
Firewalls are generally placed between the Internet and an organization’s information system.
The firewall administrator configures the firewall with rules allowing or denying information
packets from entering into or leaving the organization.
The rules are made using a combination of Internet Protocol (IP) address and Ports; such rules
are made depending on the organization needs e.g. in a school, students are allowed in
based on identity card.
The rule to the security guard in a school would be to allow all persons that carry a valid
identity card and deny everyone else. However the security guard would have another rule
for exiting from the school; the rule would be to allow everyone exit except small children
unless accompanied by adults. A similar system is followed for firewall configuration
depending on the nature of the organization, the criticality of information asset, cost of
security, security policy and risk assessment.
The firewall just like a security guard cannot judge the contents of the information packet; just
like the guard allows all persons with a valid identity card irrespective of nature of the persons,
firewall allows entry or exit based mainly on IP address and Port numbers. Hence an entry or
exit is possible by masking IP address or Port. To mitigate this risk, organizations use Intrusion
Detection System, which is explained in the next section.
There are various kinds of firewall depending on the features that it has viz. packet filter
(operates on IP packets), stateful firewall (operates based connection state) or application
firewall (using proxy).
Example of a firewall rule could be: Block inbound TCP address 200.224.54.253 from port 135.
(An imaginary example); such rule would tell a computer connected to Internet to block any
traffic originating from the computer with an IP address 200.224.54.253 using Port 135.
Important activities relating to firewalls are initial configuration (creating initial rules), system
maintenance (additions or change in environment), review of audit logs, acting on alarms
and configuration testing.More
Proxy methods for Web Application Manipulation
![5-Pack Premium Reusable LCD Screen Protector with Lint Cleaning Cloth for Apple iPhone 3G 8GB 16GB [Accessory Export Packaging]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_uLMaEM6khoKHh5iFASiEVBunuJtmP34qtIplMZOTz7k7OMXO7xggRhBmCYtRzqvWttJymRWpVlBK9AQ34bWnV2FSe_lNZwW_XIIdnLOpYuGtERcIiB3MSWleYrlnEanZkRj3PQFvUCku2Yr9pg6vAdW4WxJ6YT5Y4gyPOEeID2DNeOe3teQAU2S1cvYI4wHPkTL6S-YfI19zTGlN7e6N_7-BxQ2lblVqgY1Q=s0-d)
An HTTP proxy server serves as a middle man between a web server and a web client(browser). It intercepts and logs all connections between them and in some cases can
manipulate that data request to test how the server will respond. This can be useful for testing
applications for various cross-site scripting attacks (provide reference link here), SQL Injection
attacks and any other direct request style attack. A proxy testing utility (SpikeProxy, WebProxy,
etc), will assist with most of these tests for you. While some have an automation feature, you
will quickly learn that it is actually a weak substitute for a real person behind the wheel of such
tools.
Exercise 1: Choose your software
1. Download a proxy utility
2. Install the software according to the README file
3. Change your browser setting to point to the new proxy
• This is usually port 8080 on localhost for these tools but read the
instructions to be sure.
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| Proxy Server |
Once the proxy server is installed and your browser is pointed at it, surf around the site your
testing. Remember, be sure to use a website that you have permission to test. Once you have
surfed around, point your browser to the proxy's admin page (for SpikeProxy, it
http://www.immunitysec.com/resources-freesoftware.shtml) and begin testing the site. From
the admin interface you can have the tool brute force the site's authentication methods or
test for cross-site scripting. (Actually, we recommend using Mozilla or Firefox and
http://livehttpheaders.mozdev.org/ and http://addneditcookies.mozdev.org/ together to
modify headers and cookies on the fly without the need for a seperate proxy port. Not only
does it really simplify things, it's a much more powerful tool set as we teach it in ISECOM's
OSSTMM Professional Security Tester class (OPST). But since you will need to know about
setting up proxies for other things, like ad and spam filters, privacy filters, etc. We thought you
should actually set one up for real and Spike is a good one to try.)
A proxy server can be a powerful tool in helping you determine how solid a web application
is. For penetration tests or vulnerability assessments, you must have a good proxy tool in your
toolbox. There are detailed tutorials available on using SpikeProxy at
http://www.immunitysec.com/resources-papers.shtml.
Protecting your server
There are several steps that can be taken to protecting your server. These include ensuring
that your software is always updated and patched with any security updates that are
available from the manufacturer. This includes ensuring that your OS and web servers are
updates as well. In addition, Firewalls and Intrusion detections systems can help protect your
server more.
Saturday
POP and SMTP
After your e-mail client knows your e-mail address, it's going to need to know where to look for
incoming e-mail and where to send outgoing e-mail.
Your incoming e-mails are going to be on a computer called a POP server. The POP server –
usually named something like pop.smallnetwork.net or mail.smallnetwork.net – has a file on it
that is associated with your e-mail address and which contains e-mails that have been sent to
you from someone else. POP stands for post office protocol.
Your outgoing e-mails will be sent to a computer called a SMTP server. This server – named
smtp.smallnetwork.net – will look at the domain name contained in the e-mail address of any
e-mails that you send, then will perform a DNS lookup to determine which POP3 server it
should send the e-mail to. SMTP stands for simple mail transfer protocol.
When you start up your e-mail client, a number of things happen:
1. the client opens up a network connection to the POP server
2. the client sends your secret password to the POP server
3. the POP server sends your incoming e-mail to your local computer
4. the client sends your outgoing e-mail to the SMTP server.
The first thing to note is that you do not send a password to the SMTP server. SMTP is an old
protocol, designed in the early days of e-mail, at a time when almost everyone on the
Internet knew each other personally. The protocol was written with the assumption that
everyone who would be using it would be trustworthy, so SMTP doesn't check to ensure that
you are you. Most SMTP servers use other methods to authenticate users, but – in theory –
anyone can use any SMTP server to send e-mail
incoming e-mail and where to send outgoing e-mail.
Your incoming e-mails are going to be on a computer called a POP server. The POP server –
usually named something like pop.smallnetwork.net or mail.smallnetwork.net – has a file on it
that is associated with your e-mail address and which contains e-mails that have been sent to
you from someone else. POP stands for post office protocol.
Your outgoing e-mails will be sent to a computer called a SMTP server. This server – named
smtp.smallnetwork.net – will look at the domain name contained in the e-mail address of any
e-mails that you send, then will perform a DNS lookup to determine which POP3 server it
should send the e-mail to. SMTP stands for simple mail transfer protocol.
When you start up your e-mail client, a number of things happen:
1. the client opens up a network connection to the POP server
2. the client sends your secret password to the POP server
3. the POP server sends your incoming e-mail to your local computer
4. the client sends your outgoing e-mail to the SMTP server.
The first thing to note is that you do not send a password to the SMTP server. SMTP is an old
protocol, designed in the early days of e-mail, at a time when almost everyone on the
Internet knew each other personally. The protocol was written with the assumption that
everyone who would be using it would be trustworthy, so SMTP doesn't check to ensure that
you are you. Most SMTP servers use other methods to authenticate users, but – in theory –
anyone can use any SMTP server to send e-mail
E-Mails
How E-mail Works ?
Just like airmail is sent through the air, 'e'-mail is sent through the 'e' – the 'e' in this case being
the web of electronic connections within and between the networks that make up the
Internet. When you send an e-mail from your computer, the data is sent from your computer
to an SMTP server. The SMTP server then searches for the correct POP3 server and sends your
e-mail to that server, where it waits until your intended recipient retrieves it.
E-mail accounts are available through many different sources. You may get one through
school, through your work or through your ISP. When you get an e-mail account, you will be
given a two part e-mail address, in this form: username@domain.name. The first part,
username identifies you on your network, differentiating you from all the other users on the
network. The second part, domain.name is used to identify your specific network. The
user name must be unique within your network, just as the domain name must be unique
among all the other networks on the Internet. However, user names are not unique outside of
their networks; it is possible for two users on two different networks to share user names. For
example, if there is one user with the address nj12@yahoo.com, there will not be another
user on yahoo.com whose user name is bill. However, nj12@gmail.com andnj12@yahoo.com are both valid e-mail addresses that can refer to different users.
One of the first things that you will do when you are setting up your e-mail is to enter your email
address into your e-mail client program. Your e-mail client is the program that you will use
to send and receive e-mails. Microsoft's Outlook Express may be the most widely known (since
it comes free with every copy of a Microsoft operating system), but there are many others
available for both Windows and Linux, including Mozilla, Eudora, Thunderbird and Pine.
POP And SMTP
Just like airmail is sent through the air, 'e'-mail is sent through the 'e' – the 'e' in this case being
the web of electronic connections within and between the networks that make up the
Internet. When you send an e-mail from your computer, the data is sent from your computer
to an SMTP server. The SMTP server then searches for the correct POP3 server and sends your
e-mail to that server, where it waits until your intended recipient retrieves it.
E-mail accounts are available through many different sources. You may get one through
school, through your work or through your ISP. When you get an e-mail account, you will be
given a two part e-mail address, in this form: username@domain.name. The first part,
username identifies you on your network, differentiating you from all the other users on the
network. The second part, domain.name is used to identify your specific network. The
user name must be unique within your network, just as the domain name must be unique
among all the other networks on the Internet. However, user names are not unique outside of
their networks; it is possible for two users on two different networks to share user names. For
example, if there is one user with the address nj12@yahoo.com, there will not be another
user on yahoo.com whose user name is bill. However, nj12@gmail.com andnj12@yahoo.com are both valid e-mail addresses that can refer to different users.
One of the first things that you will do when you are setting up your e-mail is to enter your email
address into your e-mail client program. Your e-mail client is the program that you will use
to send and receive e-mails. Microsoft's Outlook Express may be the most widely known (since
it comes free with every copy of a Microsoft operating system), but there are many others
available for both Windows and Linux, including Mozilla, Eudora, Thunderbird and Pine.
POP And SMTP
Good Safety Advice For Your Computer
There are a number of simple things that you can do in order to minimize your risk to Malware.
• Only download from reputable sources ( that means no W4R3Z, please. )
• Don't open e-mail attachments from people you don't know.
• Don't leave macros enabled by default in your applications.
• Keep your OS and applications up to date with patches.
• If downloading and installing software with a checksum – check the checksum.
• Only download from reputable sources ( that means no W4R3Z, please. )
• Don't open e-mail attachments from people you don't know.
• Don't leave macros enabled by default in your applications.
• Keep your OS and applications up to date with patches.
• If downloading and installing software with a checksum – check the checksum.
Friday
Logicbombs and Timebombs
Time bomb programming is used to allow you to download and try a program for a period of time – usually 30 days. At the end of the trial period, the program ceases to function, unless a registration code is
provided.Logic bombs and Time bombs are programs which have no replication ability and no
ability to create an access method, but are applications or parts of applications that will
cause damage to data should they become active. They can be stand-alone, or part of
worms or viruses.
provided.Logic bombs and Time bombs are programs which have no replication ability and no
ability to create an access method, but are applications or parts of applications that will
cause damage to data should they become active. They can be stand-alone, or part of
worms or viruses.
Thursday
Whats your password? (article on password safely)
I am back with the new tutorial on Password safety.
Now what is password safety bcoz this word known as a safety object itself.
But our passwords need safety bcoz its a straight-a-way key to your personal files or data.
so, here we go with some tricks and tips for you to keep your password safe.
Choice of your Password
First and the most important step is choosing your password.
some tips to be remembered before you select a password.
Your Password should not :-
- be your Name, Last Name.
- be your birth date, cell / car/bike registration number or library card number.
- be a dictionary word.
- be one of your favourite celebrity, movie or book/author/character name.
- be less then 8(eight) character.
- be any of your owns name.(i.e. name of your own house,car/bike,piano,company etc)
- be any well known company/brand/website name.
- be lucky number(i.e 786,13,007 etc).
- follow any perticulare pattern or series.(i.e. 11aa22bbcc, 123456,1111,3333 etc)
- your password should contain Alphabets (lower and upper case), digits and symbols (i.e: a-z,A-Z,0-9,~!@#$%&* etc)
- For example: $p@3pU#
- Never disclose your password to anybody.
- Never write your password anywhere, if though necessary write it in a way which is reachable to you only.
- Use different passwords for different accounts.
- Never mention you password and ID on Networking site.
- Never choose "Remember my Password" option anywhere.
- Always use on-screen keyboard to type your password if available.
- Never use cyber cafe to access online baking.
- In case you use cyber cafe, befor leaving the pc do not forget to delet cookies and history files shown as in image below.
Saturday
Viruses
Viruses or virii are self-replicating pieces of software that, similar to a biological virus, attach
themselves to another program, or, in the case of “macro viruses”, to another file. The virus is
only run when the program or the file is run or opened. It is this which differentiates viruses from
worms. If the program or file is not accessed in any way, then the virus will not run and will not
copy itself further.
There are a number of types of viruses, although, significantly, the most common form today is
the macro virus, and others, such as the boot sector virus are now only found “in captivity
0 Worst Computer Virus
Boot Sector Viruses
The boot sector virus was the first type of virus created. It hides itself in the executable
code at the beginning of bootable disks. This meant that in order to infect a machine, you
needed to boot from an infected floppy disk. A long time ago, ( 15 years or so ) booting
from floppy was a relatively regular occurrence, meaning that such viruses were actually
quite well spread by the time that people figured out what was happening. This virus ( and
all other types ) should leave a signature which subsequent infection attempts detect, so
as not to repeatedly infect the same target. It is this signature that allows other software
( such as Anti-Virus-software ) to detect the infection
The Executable File Virus
The Polymorphic Virus
Early viruses were easy enough to detect. They had a certain signature to identify them,
either within themselves as a method to prevent re-infection, or simply that they had a
specific structure which it was possible to detect. Then along came the polymorphic virus.
Poly – meaning multiple and morphic – meaning shape. These viruses change themselves
each time they replicate, rearranging their code, changing encryption and generally
making themselves look totally different. This created a huge problem, as instantly there
were much smaller signatures that remained the same – some of the “better” viruses were
reduced to a detection signature of a few bytes. The problem was increased with the
release of a number of polymorphic kits into the virus writing community which allowed
any virus to be recreated as a polymorph.
The Macro Virus The
Macro Virus makes use of the built-in ability of a number of programs to execute
code. Programs such as Word and Excel have limited, but very powerful, versions of the
Visual Basic programming language. This allows for the automation of repetitive tasks, and
the automatic configuration of specific settings. These macro languages are misused to
attach viral code to documents which will automatically copy itself on to other
documents, and propagate. Although Microsoft has turned off the feature by default now
on new installations, it used to be that Outlook would automatically execute certain code
attached to e-mails as soon as they were read. This meant that viruses were propagating
very quickly by sending themselves to all of the e-mail addresses that were stored on the
infected machine.
Worms
Worms are older than viruses. The first worm was created many years before the first virus.
This worm made use of a flaw in the UNIX finger command to quickly bring down most of
the Internet.A worm is a program that, after it has been started, replicates without any need for
human intervention. It will propagate from host to host, taking advantage of an
unprotected service or services. It will traverse a network without the need for a user to
send an infected file or e-mail. Most of the large incidents in the press recently have been
worms rather than viruses.
Earn money with AlertPay
Secure your Web Experiance
Trojans and Spyware
The first Trojan Horse was created by the Greeks several thousand years ago.The basic concept is that you sneak something nasty into an
otherwise secure computer in the guise of something nicer. This can range from a
downloaded game trailer to an e-mail promising naked pictures of your favorite celebrity. This
section covers Trojans and spy ware.
Trojans are pieces of malware which masquerade as something either useful or
desirable in order to get you to run them. At this point they may well do something unpleasant
to your computer such as install a backdoor or rootkit or - even worse - dial a
premium rate phone number that will cost you money.
Spyware is software that installs itself surreptitiously, often from websites that you might
visit. Once it is installed it will look for information that it considers valuable. This may be usage
The Movie Troy,You can Imagine that horse as a Trojan Virus.
Time bomb programming is used to allow you to download and try a program for a period of time – usually 30 days. At the end of the trial period, the program ceases to function, unless a registration code is
provided.Logic bombs and Time bombs are programs which have no replication ability and no
ability to create an access method, but are applications or parts of applications that will
cause damage to data should they become active. They can be stand-alone, or part of
worms or viruses.
More About Computer Security
Hacking,Secure Your Web Experiance,How to Create Password ?
themselves to another program, or, in the case of “macro viruses”, to another file. The virus is
only run when the program or the file is run or opened. It is this which differentiates viruses from
worms. If the program or file is not accessed in any way, then the virus will not run and will not
copy itself further.
There are a number of types of viruses, although, significantly, the most common form today is
the macro virus, and others, such as the boot sector virus are now only found “in captivity
0 Worst Computer Virus
Boot Sector Viruses
The boot sector virus was the first type of virus created. It hides itself in the executable
code at the beginning of bootable disks. This meant that in order to infect a machine, you
needed to boot from an infected floppy disk. A long time ago, ( 15 years or so ) booting
from floppy was a relatively regular occurrence, meaning that such viruses were actually
quite well spread by the time that people figured out what was happening. This virus ( and
all other types ) should leave a signature which subsequent infection attempts detect, so
as not to repeatedly infect the same target. It is this signature that allows other software
( such as Anti-Virus-software ) to detect the infection
The Executable File Virus
The Executable File virus attaches itself to files, such as .exe or .com files. Some viruses
would specifically look for programs which were a part of the operating system, and thus
were most likely to be run each time the computer was turned on, increasing their
chances of successful propagation. There were a few ways of adding a virus to an
would specifically look for programs which were a part of the operating system, and thus
were most likely to be run each time the computer was turned on, increasing their
chances of successful propagation. There were a few ways of adding a virus to an
executable file, some of which worked better than others. The simplest way ( and the least
subtle ) was to overwrite the first part of the executable file with the virus code. This meant
that the virus executed, but that the program would subsequently crash, leaving it quite
obvious that there was an infection – especially if the file was an important system file.
subtle ) was to overwrite the first part of the executable file with the virus code. This meant
that the virus executed, but that the program would subsequently crash, leaving it quite
obvious that there was an infection – especially if the file was an important system file.
The Terminate and Stay Resident (TSR) Virus
TSR is a term from DOS where an application would load itself into memory, and then
remain there in the background, allowing the computer to run as normal in the
foreground. The more complex of these viruses would intercept system calls that would
expose them and return false results - others would attach themselves to the 'dir'
command, and then infect every application in the directory that was listed – a few even
stopped ( or deleted ) Anti-Virus software installed onto the systems
remain there in the background, allowing the computer to run as normal in the
foreground. The more complex of these viruses would intercept system calls that would
expose them and return false results - others would attach themselves to the 'dir'
command, and then infect every application in the directory that was listed – a few even
stopped ( or deleted ) Anti-Virus software installed onto the systems
The Polymorphic Virus
Early viruses were easy enough to detect. They had a certain signature to identify them,
either within themselves as a method to prevent re-infection, or simply that they had a
specific structure which it was possible to detect. Then along came the polymorphic virus.
Poly – meaning multiple and morphic – meaning shape. These viruses change themselves
each time they replicate, rearranging their code, changing encryption and generally
making themselves look totally different. This created a huge problem, as instantly there
were much smaller signatures that remained the same – some of the “better” viruses were
reduced to a detection signature of a few bytes. The problem was increased with the
release of a number of polymorphic kits into the virus writing community which allowed
any virus to be recreated as a polymorph.
The Macro Virus The
Macro Virus makes use of the built-in ability of a number of programs to execute
code. Programs such as Word and Excel have limited, but very powerful, versions of the
Visual Basic programming language. This allows for the automation of repetitive tasks, and
the automatic configuration of specific settings. These macro languages are misused to
attach viral code to documents which will automatically copy itself on to other
documents, and propagate. Although Microsoft has turned off the feature by default now
on new installations, it used to be that Outlook would automatically execute certain code
attached to e-mails as soon as they were read. This meant that viruses were propagating
very quickly by sending themselves to all of the e-mail addresses that were stored on the
infected machine.
Worms
Worms are older than viruses. The first worm was created many years before the first virus.
This worm made use of a flaw in the UNIX finger command to quickly bring down most of
the Internet.A worm is a program that, after it has been started, replicates without any need for
human intervention. It will propagate from host to host, taking advantage of an
unprotected service or services. It will traverse a network without the need for a user to
send an infected file or e-mail. Most of the large incidents in the press recently have been
worms rather than viruses.
Earn money with AlertPay
Secure your Web Experiance
Trojans and Spyware
otherwise secure computer in the guise of something nicer. This can range from a
downloaded game trailer to an e-mail promising naked pictures of your favorite celebrity. This
section covers Trojans and spy ware.
Trojans are pieces of malware which masquerade as something either useful or
desirable in order to get you to run them. At this point they may well do something unpleasant
to your computer such as install a backdoor or rootkit or - even worse - dial a
premium rate phone number that will cost you money.
Spyware is software that installs itself surreptitiously, often from websites that you might
visit. Once it is installed it will look for information that it considers valuable. This may be usage
 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Horse As a Virus |
Logicbombs and Timebombs
provided.Logic bombs and Time bombs are programs which have no replication ability and no
ability to create an access method, but are applications or parts of applications that will
cause damage to data should they become active. They can be stand-alone, or part of
worms or viruses.
More About Computer Security
Hacking,Secure Your Web Experiance,How to Create Password ?
Friday
How To Secure Your Wifi Connection!
Hello Friends,
I am posting this bcoz some losser who hacked open Wifi connection and email from there to claim bomb blast which happned in Varanasi, India.
many company and home users uses the wifi connection to access Internet. But they don't secure their wifi connections & Reason is just ignorance. Beware hackers are in their way. I've some idea to secure ur wifi connection.
step 1:
Go to your wifi device setup. normally its ip address is 192.168.1.1
step 2:
Go to the wireless settings and find security tab.
step 3:
There You'll see WEP encryption setting.. make it Enable.
step 4:
Make Encryption strength 128-bit
give a Network Key. It should be at least 10 cherector long. (i.e: 21gl@di@tor12)
Network key is like a password to your wifi connection. when ever you want to access the Internet you'll need it.
so like password keep it secret.
give a strong password ....
now how to give a strong password? I'll show you in my next post.
Till then enjoy.
I am posting this bcoz some losser who hacked open Wifi connection and email from there to claim bomb blast which happned in Varanasi, India.
many company and home users uses the wifi connection to access Internet. But they don't secure their wifi connections & Reason is just ignorance. Beware hackers are in their way. I've some idea to secure ur wifi connection.
step 1:
Go to your wifi device setup. normally its ip address is 192.168.1.1
step 2:
Go to the wireless settings and find security tab.
step 3:
There You'll see WEP encryption setting.. make it Enable.
step 4:
Make Encryption strength 128-bit
give a Network Key. It should be at least 10 cherector long. (i.e: 21gl@di@tor12)
Network key is like a password to your wifi connection. when ever you want to access the Internet you'll need it.
so like password keep it secret.
give a strong password ....
now how to give a strong password? I'll show you in my next post.
Till then enjoy.
Monday
Backlink Article ?
WebMaster and Blogger can create There Backlink by just doing easy step here
The trick is very easy, you just copy the link located below on condition that you must remove the link from the list at rank 1, then move that was number 2 become number 1, number 3 becomes number 2, number 4 to number 3, etc.. Then input your own blog link at the bottom of the order (number 10). And please invite your friends to follow this way and help spread this way to as much as your friend.
1. RenunganHarian - http://www.renunganharian.net/
2. TGIF - http://www.heedeew.co.cc/
3. DailyNews - http://articles-news-4free.blogspot.com/
4. GetInvolve - http://storiesonwords.blogspot.com/
5. CyberMinistries - http://glorianet.org/
6. GloriaGraffa - http://bukugloria.blogspot.com/
7. MotoExpert - http://www.massis.co.cc/
8. Living Next Level - http://extreamly-urgent.blogspot.com/
9. My Kind of Worship - http://www.pujian.co.cc/
10. ManuaTech Site - http://www.manualtech.info/
11. Computer http://system-ctc.blogspot.com/
From the side you've got 1,953,125 SEO backlinks and the side effects, if visitor click on your link then you also get extra traffic.
I recommend you try this way and please copy and distribute this article to your friends. Eliminate the link number 1 and input your blog address at number 10.
The trick is very easy, you just copy the link located below on condition that you must remove the link from the list at rank 1, then move that was number 2 become number 1, number 3 becomes number 2, number 4 to number 3, etc.. Then input your own blog link at the bottom of the order (number 10). And please invite your friends to follow this way and help spread this way to as much as your friend.
1. RenunganHarian - http://www.renunganharian.net/
2. TGIF - http://www.heedeew.co.cc/
3. DailyNews - http://articles-news-4free.blogspot.com/
4. GetInvolve - http://storiesonwords.blogspot.com/
5. CyberMinistries - http://glorianet.org/
6. GloriaGraffa - http://bukugloria.blogspot.com/
7. MotoExpert - http://www.massis.co.cc/
8. Living Next Level - http://extreamly-urgent.blogspot.com/
9. My Kind of Worship - http://www.pujian.co.cc/
10. ManuaTech Site - http://www.manualtech.info/
11. Computer http://system-ctc.blogspot.com/
From the side you've got 1,953,125 SEO backlinks and the side effects, if visitor click on your link then you also get extra traffic.
I recommend you try this way and please copy and distribute this article to your friends. Eliminate the link number 1 and input your blog address at number 10.
Thursday
What is Hacking ?
Hacking is often portrayed to Many Things its is not .This could be farther from the truth.The act of remotely accessing someone's computer to steal their private files would be Hacking.
OK, I Will Tell you what it is , A Person withdrawing money from an ATM using their card . A Person withdrawing money from an ATM using someone Else's card
without their permission is a thief. A person hacking into a computer to test its security is a hacker who is a security expert, A person hacking into a computer to steal passwords is a criminal And the person is accordingly labeled a "Security expert" or "Criminal" ,but he is a hacker nonetheless.
A computer hacker is one who is curious about the working of computers and
software.While many people are happy treating their computer like black box.
Now who is hacker ? Don't like the way windows names shortcuts, hack the registry and change the way it works.Windows may not provide the facility to do this, but that is no reason for us to be limited to the way it works.Hacking constitutes a mind set, not a skilled test.
We say Windows lot now Linux ? fact is Linux is much easier to hack then windows, Yes Linux is much easier to hack than windows,but it is also considered more secure.When you look at hacking from the larger-sense perspective of messing with as system out of curiosity,Linux allow you to do more.Linux is intentionally hack-able allowing each and every parameter to be changed by the user.You can create unique combination of application sets and features that the distribution creators never envisioned.With Linux you have access to nearly all the source code of the system on the other hand one would need to use third party tools,patch binaries change undocumented registry settings, and even then the level of stabilizability would be much less.
without their permission is a thief. A person hacking into a computer to test its security is a hacker who is a security expert, A person hacking into a computer to steal passwords is a criminal And the person is accordingly labeled a "Security expert" or "Criminal" ,but he is a hacker nonetheless.
A computer hacker is one who is curious about the working of computers and
software.While many people are happy treating their computer like black box.
Now who is hacker ? Don't like the way windows names shortcuts, hack the registry and change the way it works.Windows may not provide the facility to do this, but that is no reason for us to be limited to the way it works.Hacking constitutes a mind set, not a skilled test.
We say Windows lot now Linux ? fact is Linux is much easier to hack then windows, Yes Linux is much easier to hack than windows,but it is also considered more secure.When you look at hacking from the larger-sense perspective of messing with as system out of curiosity,Linux allow you to do more.Linux is intentionally hack-able allowing each and every parameter to be changed by the user.You can create unique combination of application sets and features that the distribution creators never envisioned.With Linux you have access to nearly all the source code of the system on the other hand one would need to use third party tools,patch binaries change undocumented registry settings, and even then the level of stabilizability would be much less.
Tuesday
How To Boot Xp Fast ?
Boot Xp Fast
Follow the following steps
1. Open notepad.exe, type "del c:\windows\prefetch\ntosboot-*.* /q" (without the quotes) & save as "ntosboot.bat" in c:\
2. From the Start menu, select "Run..." & type "gpedit.msc".
3. Double click "Windows Settings" under "Computer Configuration" and double click again on"Shutdown" in the right window.- 4. In the new window, click "add", "Browse", locate your "ntosboot.bat" file & click "Open".
5. Click "OK", "Apply" & "OK" once again to exit.
6. From the Start menu, select "Run..." & type "devmgmt.msc".
7. Double click on "IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers"
8. Right click on "Primary IDE Channel" and select "Properties".
9. Select the "Advanced Settings" tab then on the device or 1 that doesn't have 'device type' greyed out select 'none' instead of 'autodetect' & click "OK".
10. Right click on "Secondary IDE channel", select "Properties" and repeat step 9.
11. Reboot your computer.
How To Update BIOS
BIOS Update Procedure
What is BIOS ?
All latest Motherboards today, 486/ Pentium / Pentium Pro etc.,ensure that upgrades are easily obtained by incorporating the system BIOS in a FLASH Memory component. With FLASH BIOS, there is no need to replace an EPROM component. Once downloaded, the upgrade utility fits on a floppy disc allowing the user to save, verify and update the system BIOS. A hard drive or a network drive can also be used to run the newer upgrade utilities. However, memory managers can not be installed while upgrading.
Most Pre-Pentium motherboards do not have a Flash BIOS. The following instructions therefore do not apply to these boards. If your motherboard does not have a Flash BIOS (EEPROM) you will need to use an EPROM programmer to re-program the BIOS chip. See your dealer for more information about this.
Please read the following instructions in full before starting a Flash BIOS upgrade:
A. Create a Bootable Floppy (in DOS)
•With a non-formatted disk, type the following:
format A:/s
•If using a formatted disk, type:
says A:
This procedure will ensure a clean boot when you are flashing the new BIOS.
B. Download the BIOS file
•Download the correct BIOS file by clicking on the file name of the BIOS file you wish to download.
•Save the BIOS file and the Flash Utility file in the boot disk you have created. Unzip the BIOS file and the flash utility file. If you don't have an "unzip" utility, download the WinZip for Windows 95 shareware/ evaluation copy for that one time use from _www.winzip.com or _www.pkware.com. Most CD ROMs found in computer magazines, have a shareware version of Win Zip on them.
•You should have extracted two files:
Flash BIOS utility eg: flash7265.exe (for example)
BIOS eg: 6152J900.bin (example)
Use the latest flash utility available unless otherwise specified (either on the BIOS update page or in the archive file). This information is usually provided.
C. Upgrade the System BIOS
During boot up, write down the old BIOS version because you will need to use it for the BIOS backup file name.
Place the bootable floppy disk containing the BIOS file and the Flash Utility in drive a, and reboot the system in MS-DOS, preferably Version 6.22
•At the A:> prompt, type the corresponding Flash BIOS utility and the BIOS file with its extension.
For example:
flash625 615j900.bin
•From the Flash Memory Writer menu, select "Y" to "Do you want to save BIOS?" if you want to save (back up) your current BIOS (strongly recommended), then type the name of your current BIOS and its extension after FILE NAME TO SAVE: eg: A:\613J900.bin
Alternatively select "N" if you don't want to save your current BIOS. Beware, though, that you won't be able to recover from a possible failure.
•Select "Y" to "Are you sure to program?"
•Wait until it displays "Message: Power Off or Reset the system"
Once the BIOS has been successfully loaded, remove the floppy disk and reboot the system. If you write to BIOS but cannot complete the procedure, do not switch off, because the computer will not be able to boo, and you will not be given another chance to flash. In this case leave your system on until you resolve the problem (flashing BIOS with old file is a possible solution, provided you've made a backup before)
Make sure the new BIOS version has been loaded properly by taking note of the BIOS identifier as the system is rebooting.
For AMI BIOS
Once the BIOS has been successfully loaded, remove the floppy disk and reboot the system holding the "END" key prior to power on until you enter CMOS setup. If you do not do this the first time booting up after upgrading the BIOS, the system will hang.
BIOS Update Tips
note:
1.Make sure never to turn off or reset your computer during the flash process. This will corrupt the BIOS data. We also recommend that you make a copy of your current BIOS on the Bootable floppy so you can reflash it if you need to. (This option is not available when flashing an AMI BIOS).
2. If you have problems installing your new BIOS please check the following:
Have you done a clean boot?
In other words, did you follow the above procedure for making a Bootable floppy? This ensures that when booting from "A" there are no device drivers on the diskette. Failing to do a clean boot is the most common cause for getting a "Memory Insufficient" error message when attempting to flash a BIOS.
If you have not used a Bootable floppy, insure a clean boot either by
a) pressing F5 during Bootup
b) by removing all device drivers on the CONFIG.SYS including the HIMEM.SYS. Do this by using the EDIT command.
Have you booted up under DOS?
Booting in Windows is another common cause for getting a "Memory Insufficient" error message when attempting to flash a BIOS. Make sure to boot up to DOS with a minimum set of drivers. Important: Booting in DOS does not mean selecting "Restart computer in MS-DOS Mode" from Windows98/95 shutdown menu or going to Prompt mode in WindowsNT, but rather following the above procedure (format a: /s and rebooting from A:\).
Have you entered the full file name of the flash utility and the BIOS plus its extension?
Do not forget that often you will need to add a drive letter (a:\) before flashing the BIOS. Example: when asked for file name of new BIOS file which is on your floppy disk, in case you're working from c:\ your will need to type a:\615j900.bin, rather than 615j900.bin only.
What is BIOS ?
All latest Motherboards today, 486/ Pentium / Pentium Pro etc.,ensure that upgrades are easily obtained by incorporating the system BIOS in a FLASH Memory component. With FLASH BIOS, there is no need to replace an EPROM component. Once downloaded, the upgrade utility fits on a floppy disc allowing the user to save, verify and update the system BIOS. A hard drive or a network drive can also be used to run the newer upgrade utilities. However, memory managers can not be installed while upgrading.
Most Pre-Pentium motherboards do not have a Flash BIOS. The following instructions therefore do not apply to these boards. If your motherboard does not have a Flash BIOS (EEPROM) you will need to use an EPROM programmer to re-program the BIOS chip. See your dealer for more information about this.
Please read the following instructions in full before starting a Flash BIOS upgrade:
A. Create a Bootable Floppy (in DOS)
•With a non-formatted disk, type the following:
format A:/s
•If using a formatted disk, type:
says A:
This procedure will ensure a clean boot when you are flashing the new BIOS.
B. Download the BIOS file
•Download the correct BIOS file by clicking on the file name of the BIOS file you wish to download.
•Save the BIOS file and the Flash Utility file in the boot disk you have created. Unzip the BIOS file and the flash utility file. If you don't have an "unzip" utility, download the WinZip for Windows 95 shareware/ evaluation copy for that one time use from _www.winzip.com or _www.pkware.com. Most CD ROMs found in computer magazines, have a shareware version of Win Zip on them.
•You should have extracted two files:
Flash BIOS utility eg: flash7265.exe (for example)
BIOS eg: 6152J900.bin (example)
Use the latest flash utility available unless otherwise specified (either on the BIOS update page or in the archive file). This information is usually provided.
C. Upgrade the System BIOS
During boot up, write down the old BIOS version because you will need to use it for the BIOS backup file name.
Place the bootable floppy disk containing the BIOS file and the Flash Utility in drive a, and reboot the system in MS-DOS, preferably Version 6.22
•At the A:> prompt, type the corresponding Flash BIOS utility and the BIOS file with its extension.
For example:
flash625 615j900.bin
•From the Flash Memory Writer menu, select "Y" to "Do you want to save BIOS?" if you want to save (back up) your current BIOS (strongly recommended), then type the name of your current BIOS and its extension after FILE NAME TO SAVE: eg: A:\613J900.bin
Alternatively select "N" if you don't want to save your current BIOS. Beware, though, that you won't be able to recover from a possible failure.
•Select "Y" to "Are you sure to program?"
•Wait until it displays "Message: Power Off or Reset the system"
Once the BIOS has been successfully loaded, remove the floppy disk and reboot the system. If you write to BIOS but cannot complete the procedure, do not switch off, because the computer will not be able to boo, and you will not be given another chance to flash. In this case leave your system on until you resolve the problem (flashing BIOS with old file is a possible solution, provided you've made a backup before)
Make sure the new BIOS version has been loaded properly by taking note of the BIOS identifier as the system is rebooting.
For AMI BIOS
Once the BIOS has been successfully loaded, remove the floppy disk and reboot the system holding the "END" key prior to power on until you enter CMOS setup. If you do not do this the first time booting up after upgrading the BIOS, the system will hang.
BIOS Update Tips
note:
1.Make sure never to turn off or reset your computer during the flash process. This will corrupt the BIOS data. We also recommend that you make a copy of your current BIOS on the Bootable floppy so you can reflash it if you need to. (This option is not available when flashing an AMI BIOS).
2. If you have problems installing your new BIOS please check the following:
Have you done a clean boot?
In other words, did you follow the above procedure for making a Bootable floppy? This ensures that when booting from "A" there are no device drivers on the diskette. Failing to do a clean boot is the most common cause for getting a "Memory Insufficient" error message when attempting to flash a BIOS.
If you have not used a Bootable floppy, insure a clean boot either by
a) pressing F5 during Bootup
b) by removing all device drivers on the CONFIG.SYS including the HIMEM.SYS. Do this by using the EDIT command.
Have you booted up under DOS?
Booting in Windows is another common cause for getting a "Memory Insufficient" error message when attempting to flash a BIOS. Make sure to boot up to DOS with a minimum set of drivers. Important: Booting in DOS does not mean selecting "Restart computer in MS-DOS Mode" from Windows98/95 shutdown menu or going to Prompt mode in WindowsNT, but rather following the above procedure (format a: /s and rebooting from A:\).
Have you entered the full file name of the flash utility and the BIOS plus its extension?
Do not forget that often you will need to add a drive letter (a:\) before flashing the BIOS. Example: when asked for file name of new BIOS file which is on your floppy disk, in case you're working from c:\ your will need to type a:\615j900.bin, rather than 615j900.bin only.
DVD Writer Knowlede
16x Dvd+-rw Dl Dvd Writer Comparison Guide
Source:
CODE
http://www.extrememhz.com/dlcomp-p1.shtml
Since the introduction of double layer DVD writers, the interest has been quite overwhelming and is why we keep bringing you reviews of these highly popular drives. The anticipation has now turned into down right obsession and it has become a key component in any current or new system build, thanks to the declining prices and continued media hype. Manufacturers are quite aware of the fascination and is why they have each been releasing their own products which excel in at least one area of the testing methodology used in most reviews. This has led to some confusion as to which drive is best suited for the individuals needs. Today, we compare four 16x double layer drives and highlight both the strong and weak points in order to give you a better idea of which drive is best suited for you.
In this comparison guide, we will be looking at four of the top 16x drives to hit the market, the Pioneer DVR-108, NEC ND3500A, Lite-On SOHW-1633s and the new LG GSA-4160B. We will cover everything from design and features to performance and price. Let's begin with a quick look at each of these drives.
As far as the front bezel design goes, the LG-GSA4160B is by far the most attractive drive of the bunch. However, for those who are looking for a headphone jack, the Lite-On drive is the only DL writer offering a headphone jack, as well as volume control. The Pioneer and NEC drives, in my opinion, are the ugliest drives, with a very plain look that just wants to make you hide the drive period. Although we only obtained the 4160B in black, all these drives are offered with both white and black bezels. If you opt for the more expensive Pioneer "XL" model, it has the most impressive looks of any drive in the market. However, this will come at a very hefty price tag, considering they contain different firmware as well that offer a few extra features.
So, we have determined which is the sexiest-looking drive, but what about performance? I've done some extensive testing on each model to determine which is indeed the most impressive of the bunch. But before we show you performance results, let's briefly look at the features and what they have to offer.
Features
Each one of these drives has there disappointments when it comes to features. Let's compare each to see what they really offer.
NERO Burning Tools
DVD Writing
DVD+R DVD-R DVD+RW DVD-RW
LG GSA-4160B 16x 8x 4x 4x
Lite-On SOHW-1633s 16x 8x 4x 4x
NEC ND-3500A 16x 16x 4x 4x
Pioneer DVR-108 16x 16x 4x 4x
While all these drives are indeed 16x models, only two will write to both formats at this speed. The LG GSA-4160B and the Lite-On SOHW-1633s only support 8x DVD-R writing. So if you are one who only prefers this format, the NEC or Pioneer would be the best choice. All of these drives support writing to DVD re-writable media at 4x.
DVD+R9 Double Layer Writing
Write Speed
LG GSA-4160B 2.4x
Lite-On SOHW-1633s 2.4x
NEC ND-3500A 4x
Pioneer DVR-108 4x
The major disappointment with both the LG and the Lite-On 16x drives is the lack of 4x double layer writing support. Pioneer and NEC seem to be the only manufacturers to jump in and release second generation double layer drives supporting much faster 4x writing. In fact, the jump from 2.4x to 4x is quite substantial as we will show you a bit later in this comparison.
DVD-RAM Support
Supported Read Write
LG GSA-4160B YES 5x 5x
Lite-On SOHW-1633s NO NO NO
NEC ND-3500A NO NO NO
Pioneer DVR-108 YES 2x NO
Now this is where both the LG GSA-4120B and GSA-4160B shine above the rest. In fact, it is what has made these drives the most popular DVD writers on the market. Unlike the rest in the roundup, it is a triple format burner, offering full support for DVD-RAM media. The other drives do not support it, with the exception of the Pioneer DVR-108 which supports reading of DVD-RAM discs at 2x. I personally don't see the point in offering only read capabilities, but it's at least one extra feature added to distinguish it from the rest. Fast 5x support of the LG GSA-4160 will actually be tested a bit later in this article.
CDR Writing
CDR CDRW
LG GSA-4160B 40x 24x
Lite-On SOHW-1633s 48x 24x
NEC ND-3500A 48x 24x
Pioneer DVR-108 32x 24x
The fastest CDR writers of the bunch are the Lite-On SOHW-1633s and the NEC ND-3500A. With their support for 48x writing, they make a great all-in-one drive for many users. The only drive lacking in this lineup is the Pioneer DVR-108. Why they opted for only 32x writing is still quite puzzling and is actually why I have found that many are choosing the NEC over the Pioneer. The LG GSA-4160B should not be left out of consideration though. We will show you later that the difference in write times between 40x and 48x is not much to brag about.
Bitsetting Support
One feature I've found that is most important for many users is bitsetting support. Let's compare these drives and see what they offer.
DVD+R/RW Support DVD+R DL Support
LG GSA-4160B NO NO
Lite-On SOHW-1633s YES NO
NEC ND-3500A NO YES
Pioneer DVR-108 NO YES
The LG GSA-4160B does not offer bitsetting support out of the box. However, it is very likely that you will be able to obtain support through an excellent third-party tool called DVDInfo Pro. Right now, they only support the GSA-4120B, but I'm confident with the author that support for this drive will be likely. LG firmware is very hard to hack, however some select few have been able to do so. Using Lite-On's booktype utility, you can change the booktype of DVD+R/RW media, however, the firmware does not automatically change booktype of DVD+R DL discs to DVD-ROM like the NEC and Pioneer models do.
Additional Features
As far as other features go, all these drives have a 2MB buffer but offer some sort of buffer under-run protection, which all work exceptionally well. This is especially useful if you will be burning discs at 16x, which I personally don't recommend just yet. As our individual tests of these drives revealed, burning at this speed is quite unstable, with the exception of the Lite-On SOHW-1633s.
Source:
CODE
http://www.extrememhz.com/dlcomp-p1.shtml
Since the introduction of double layer DVD writers, the interest has been quite overwhelming and is why we keep bringing you reviews of these highly popular drives. The anticipation has now turned into down right obsession and it has become a key component in any current or new system build, thanks to the declining prices and continued media hype. Manufacturers are quite aware of the fascination and is why they have each been releasing their own products which excel in at least one area of the testing methodology used in most reviews. This has led to some confusion as to which drive is best suited for the individuals needs. Today, we compare four 16x double layer drives and highlight both the strong and weak points in order to give you a better idea of which drive is best suited for you.
In this comparison guide, we will be looking at four of the top 16x drives to hit the market, the Pioneer DVR-108, NEC ND3500A, Lite-On SOHW-1633s and the new LG GSA-4160B. We will cover everything from design and features to performance and price. Let's begin with a quick look at each of these drives.
As far as the front bezel design goes, the LG-GSA4160B is by far the most attractive drive of the bunch. However, for those who are looking for a headphone jack, the Lite-On drive is the only DL writer offering a headphone jack, as well as volume control. The Pioneer and NEC drives, in my opinion, are the ugliest drives, with a very plain look that just wants to make you hide the drive period. Although we only obtained the 4160B in black, all these drives are offered with both white and black bezels. If you opt for the more expensive Pioneer "XL" model, it has the most impressive looks of any drive in the market. However, this will come at a very hefty price tag, considering they contain different firmware as well that offer a few extra features.
So, we have determined which is the sexiest-looking drive, but what about performance? I've done some extensive testing on each model to determine which is indeed the most impressive of the bunch. But before we show you performance results, let's briefly look at the features and what they have to offer.
Features
Each one of these drives has there disappointments when it comes to features. Let's compare each to see what they really offer.
NERO Burning Tools
DVD Writing
DVD+R DVD-R DVD+RW DVD-RW
LG GSA-4160B 16x 8x 4x 4x
Lite-On SOHW-1633s 16x 8x 4x 4x
NEC ND-3500A 16x 16x 4x 4x
Pioneer DVR-108 16x 16x 4x 4x
While all these drives are indeed 16x models, only two will write to both formats at this speed. The LG GSA-4160B and the Lite-On SOHW-1633s only support 8x DVD-R writing. So if you are one who only prefers this format, the NEC or Pioneer would be the best choice. All of these drives support writing to DVD re-writable media at 4x.
DVD+R9 Double Layer Writing
Write Speed
LG GSA-4160B 2.4x
Lite-On SOHW-1633s 2.4x
NEC ND-3500A 4x
Pioneer DVR-108 4x
The major disappointment with both the LG and the Lite-On 16x drives is the lack of 4x double layer writing support. Pioneer and NEC seem to be the only manufacturers to jump in and release second generation double layer drives supporting much faster 4x writing. In fact, the jump from 2.4x to 4x is quite substantial as we will show you a bit later in this comparison.
DVD-RAM Support
Supported Read Write
LG GSA-4160B YES 5x 5x
Lite-On SOHW-1633s NO NO NO
NEC ND-3500A NO NO NO
Pioneer DVR-108 YES 2x NO
Now this is where both the LG GSA-4120B and GSA-4160B shine above the rest. In fact, it is what has made these drives the most popular DVD writers on the market. Unlike the rest in the roundup, it is a triple format burner, offering full support for DVD-RAM media. The other drives do not support it, with the exception of the Pioneer DVR-108 which supports reading of DVD-RAM discs at 2x. I personally don't see the point in offering only read capabilities, but it's at least one extra feature added to distinguish it from the rest. Fast 5x support of the LG GSA-4160 will actually be tested a bit later in this article.
CDR Writing
CDR CDRW
LG GSA-4160B 40x 24x
Lite-On SOHW-1633s 48x 24x
NEC ND-3500A 48x 24x
Pioneer DVR-108 32x 24x
The fastest CDR writers of the bunch are the Lite-On SOHW-1633s and the NEC ND-3500A. With their support for 48x writing, they make a great all-in-one drive for many users. The only drive lacking in this lineup is the Pioneer DVR-108. Why they opted for only 32x writing is still quite puzzling and is actually why I have found that many are choosing the NEC over the Pioneer. The LG GSA-4160B should not be left out of consideration though. We will show you later that the difference in write times between 40x and 48x is not much to brag about.
Bitsetting Support
One feature I've found that is most important for many users is bitsetting support. Let's compare these drives and see what they offer.
DVD+R/RW Support DVD+R DL Support
LG GSA-4160B NO NO
Lite-On SOHW-1633s YES NO
NEC ND-3500A NO YES
Pioneer DVR-108 NO YES
The LG GSA-4160B does not offer bitsetting support out of the box. However, it is very likely that you will be able to obtain support through an excellent third-party tool called DVDInfo Pro. Right now, they only support the GSA-4120B, but I'm confident with the author that support for this drive will be likely. LG firmware is very hard to hack, however some select few have been able to do so. Using Lite-On's booktype utility, you can change the booktype of DVD+R/RW media, however, the firmware does not automatically change booktype of DVD+R DL discs to DVD-ROM like the NEC and Pioneer models do.
Additional Features
As far as other features go, all these drives have a 2MB buffer but offer some sort of buffer under-run protection, which all work exceptionally well. This is especially useful if you will be burning discs at 16x, which I personally don't recommend just yet. As our individual tests of these drives revealed, burning at this speed is quite unstable, with the exception of the Lite-On SOHW-1633s.
Monday
Save Power While using your Computer
Rising Power costs,it's time to take a look at ways we can reduce our electricity consumption.To Reduce your PC's power consumption.It's important to get the right HARDWARE in place and tweak your settings according to your needs.
First HARDWARE , First make sure your power socket and wiring is good. you can ask an electrician to verify this.If either of these is faulty,your computer can try to sap more electricity than it needs.
Solid state drives and ultra-low voltage processors are affordable and offer significant boosts in power usage.
LED Monitor
When Choosing a monitor, go for an LED monitor over an LCD, and an LCD monitor over a CRT.
LED is the most power-efficient technology for screens.
LCD Monitor ,
Reducing The brightness of the screen also reduces the power consumption.Change your monitor's settings and reduce the brightness to a point where it's still comfortable to read text easily.
A simple way is to open a Word Document, set the font to Arial,size 8. change the color to gray that is mid way between black and green.Now reduce your screen brightness or contrast to the pint where this text is legible.with this setting. all other text you come across should be easily readable for you.
Unplug any external devices you won't be using such as portable hard drives, additional wireless keywords and digital cameras, if your are not using your optical drives,keep it empty and don't forget and disc in it.
Each disc periodically asks the computer to seek it,thus taking more power.
For a SOFTWARE ,If you're using WINDOWS 7 than Microsoft come up with a Special Power Saver Mode ,which will ensure your computer does not take up any more electricity than needed.To activate this Go to ; control panel > System and Security > Power Options and select the power saver power plan
You can further customize your power plan by clicking on change plan settings.
Not many people know that the screen saver actually guzzles up a lot up power.
First HARDWARE , First make sure your power socket and wiring is good. you can ask an electrician to verify this.If either of these is faulty,your computer can try to sap more electricity than it needs.
Solid state drives and ultra-low voltage processors are affordable and offer significant boosts in power usage.
LED Monitor When Choosing a monitor, go for an LED monitor over an LCD, and an LCD monitor over a CRT.
LED is the most power-efficient technology for screens.
LCD Monitor ,LCD AND LED look same but both product Are different
The CRT monitor
Reducing The brightness of the screen also reduces the power consumption.Change your monitor's settings and reduce the brightness to a point where it's still comfortable to read text easily.
A simple way is to open a Word Document, set the font to Arial,size 8. change the color to gray that is mid way between black and green.Now reduce your screen brightness or contrast to the pint where this text is legible.with this setting. all other text you come across should be easily readable for you.
Unplug any external devices you won't be using such as portable hard drives, additional wireless keywords and digital cameras, if your are not using your optical drives,keep it empty and don't forget and disc in it.
Each disc periodically asks the computer to seek it,thus taking more power.
You can further customize your power plan by clicking on change plan settings.
Not many people know that the screen saver actually guzzles up a lot up power.
Sunday
What is new for DataStage 8 on the Information Server
DataStage 8 on the Information Server looks the same as previous releases but has some major changes under the hood and a few extra bells and whistles. This post looks at what is new or changed in DataStage jobs. There are a lot of new functions for managing, running and reporting on jobs but I will talk about that in another post or you can look back at my (much)
What is new for DataStage 8 on the Information Server
What is new for DataStage 8 on the Information Server
Saturday
Anonymity
Anonymity
I can see you hiding in the shadows over there and so can the logs of all the web sites, FTP servers and other nooks and crannies you visit on the web. The sort of information gathered by these logs and which is available to the webmasters of the sites you visit include the address of the previous site you visited, your IP address, your computer's ID name, your physical location and the name of your ISP along with less personal details such as the operating system you're using and your screen resolution. If someone was snooping through your dustbin to gather information on consumer trends or tracking your every move to see where it is you go everyday you wouldn't be too chuffed would you. Well the web is no different, it's still an invasion of privacy and a threat to security and you don't have to put up with it.
Proxy servers:
Every time you visit a web site, detailed information about your system is automatically provided to the webmaster. This information can be used by hackers to exploit your computer or can be forwarded to the market research departments of consumer corporations who by tracking your activities on the internet are better equipped to direct more relevant spam at you. Your best defence against this is to use what is known as a proxy server, which will hide revealing information from the web sites you visit, allowing you to surf the web anonymously. These work by altering the way in which your browser retrieves web pages or connects to remote servers. With a proxy server set up, whenever you 'ask' IE or Netscape to look at a web page, the request is first sent through an external server which is completely independent of your ISP's servers. This third party server then does the requesting on your behalf so that it appears that the request came from them rather than you and your real IP address is never disclosed to the sites you visit. There is nothing to download and the whole process takes less than a minute.
There are two different ways to use proxy servers and both have their advantages and disadvantages. The first method is to use a web based service. What this involves is visiting the proxy's home page each time you want to browse a web site anonymously. The core component of such a system is the dialog box where you enter the address of the web site you want to visit. Each time you enter the URL of the site you want to browse via the proxy into this box, your personal information, IP address and so on is first encrypted before being sent to the site allowing you to maintain your anonymity. Two of the best examples of this type of web based proxy service are Code:
hxxp://www.rewebber.com/
and hxxp://www.anonymizer.com/.
Obviously one disadvantage of using a web based service like Rewebber or Anonymizer, however, is that you have to visit the proxies home page each time you want to surf anonymously. You could choose to select this page as your default home page, but it's still quite awkward if you're forever site hopping at the speed of light. The second main 'con' is that you often have to put up with extra adverts on the pages you visit. These are automatically inserted into the pages by the proxy - they have to pay for service somehow. More sophisticated and convenient solutions are also on offer yet they come with a price tag.
The second method you can use to protect your privacy via a proxy server involves adjusting the settings of your web browser so that you can surf anonymously without having to visit the home page of your proxy each time. To do this you will first need to know the name of your proxy server and the port number it uses. This information can be gleaned from either a public proxy server list or the FAQ referring to a private subscription based service. Once you have the name of the proxy server you wish to use, select 'Internet Options' from the 'Tools' menu of your browser. Now select 'Connections' followed by 'Settings' and tick the 'use a proxy server' check box. To finish the job all you have to do now is enter the name of the server in the 'address' box, the port which it uses in the 'port' box and go forth and surf anonymously.
Free, manual proxy servers as advertised on anonymity sites, if you can find one at all, are likely to be highly oversubscribed, and as a result the speed at which they retrieve web pages can deteriorate. In which case you can go in pursuit of a public proxy server list and select an alternative from it, which can then be set up manually. To locate such a list you can investigate sites such as Code:
hxxp://www.proxys4all.com/
however, this method isn't problem free either, so before you get too carried away and go jumping on the anonymity bandwagon there are a few things you should be aware of. It's very easy to use proxies to protect your privacy, but often the disadvantages of using them far out weigh the benefits. You see, the problem is that, like the proxy servers provided Rewebber et al, free, public proxies are nearly all over subscribed and so they can slow down web browsing considerably. Digging out fast reliable proxy servers is an art form in itself and is a skill which takes considerable practice. You could find a list of public proxy servers and then experiment with each one until you find one that runs at a reasonable speed, but this can be very time consuming and frustrating. Instead, your search would be much more efficient if you got a dedicated program to carry out this task for you. There are literally dozens of proxy seeking programs around which can do just that, and many of them are available as freeware. What these do is scan the internet for public proxy servers. These servers are then tested for speed and anonymity (not all of them are truly anonymous, even if they claim to be!) and once you find one which suits your requirements you can select it as your default proxy with the click of a button.
One of the most significant advantages of using an automated tool to locate proxy servers is that you do not have to keep editing your proxy settings manually each time you wish to try out a new one. Instead, what you do is enter 'localhost' or '127.0.0.1' into the 'address' box and '8088' into the 'port' box of your browser's proxy settings menu and then forget about it. All future proxy switching is then orchestrated from within your proxy seeking software, which subsequently relays the information to your browser or whatever type of application you are attempting to make anonymous. For those of you who are curious 'localhost' and the IP address '127.0.0.1' are the names by which every computer on the internet refers to itself.
Here's a good selection of links, which should help you to get started - Code:
hxxp://www.a4proxy.com/ Anonymity 4 Proxy
hxxp://www.helgasoft.com/hiproxy/ Hi Proxy
hxxp://www.proxy-verifier.com/ Proxy Verifier
hxxp://www.photono-software.de/ Stealther.
You may find that even when using these programs you have difficulty finding good proxy servers. It is for this reason that many people choose only to use proxy servers temporarily whilst doing something which may land them in trouble with their ISP, or in a worst case scenario with the law. The most obvious example of a situation in which you would want to cover your tracks is when scanning for public FTP servers and subsequently uploading to them. Most other net activities are unlikely to incur serious consequences so under these circumstances you can safely surf the web without a proxy. If you're really serious about protecting your privacy, however, your best bet is probably to invest in a dedicated, stable proxy such as the ones offered by Code:
hxxp://www.ultimate-anonymity.com/ Ultimate Anonymity
These aren't free, but may be worth the expense if you aren't keen on continuously switching proxy servers.
Before splashing out though it may be worth checking if your current ISP has a proxy server of its own which you can use. These aren't there to help you to commit cyber crimes and get away with it, they actually have a legitimate purpose as well - otherwise they wouldn't exist. You see, proxy servers were originally designed to help speed up web page loading times. Proxy servers contain a cache of all the web pages which have been requested via the browsers of the people using the proxy. When someone surfs the web using a proxy, the proxy first checks to see if it already has a copy of the web page stored in its cache. If this version of the page is bang up to date, it is sent to your computer and appears in your browser. If the page found in the cache of the proxy server is older than the one stored on the server hosting the page, a new request to the web server is made and the page is updated in the cache of the proxy before being sent to you. Because these servers use very fast internet connections they can retrieve web pages at much greater speeds than you can via your modest home setup. If these servers are located physically nearer to your home than the web host servers you wish to retrieve web pages from, the speed at which you browse the web will be accelerated.
Anonymity - Cookies
One last important point you need to be aware of before jumping in with both feet is that different programs have to be setup in different ways before being able to make external connections via a proxy server. For example, you can surf the web anonymously by modifying the settings in Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator as explained earlier in this tutorial, but this will only affect your browser. If you then used Flash FXP to copy a batch of 0-day releases from one FTP server to another, this isn't going to protect you in the slightest. What you have to do is enter the name of the proxy server into each application you wish to make anonymous before making any external connections. This can usually be done by browsing through the preferences of your program to see if there is a 'use proxy server' option available. If there is, make sure you use it!
Cookies:
You have little to fear from the edible variety, but the digital ones can be a major threat to your security and privacy. A cookie is a tiny text file (usually less than 1kb in size), which is created and stored on your hard drive whenever you visit a dynamic (or an interactive if you like) web site. These are used to log your personal details so that you can access members only areas of web sites without having to type in a password every time, or to retain your customised settings so that they are available the next time you visit. If you're using a shared computer, anyone who visits the same site that you have previously logged in to can access your accounts. This is particularly worrying if you have entered your credit card details into a form on an e-commerce site. If your browser is set to automatically fill in these details whenever you
return to a previously visited site, this information could be clearly visible - you don't need me to explain the problems this could entail.
The solution to this problem is to delete any cookies which contain sensitive data once you have completed your transactions. Your cookies will be stored in a different place depending on which operating system you are using so you will have to use your detective skills to find them. As an example, in Windows XP they are located in your 'c:\Documents and Settings\Kylie Minogue\Cookies' directory (that is if your name is Kylie Minogue. Mine isn't in case you're wondering!). If you look in this directory, in some cases it is easy to identify which cookie is associated with which web site, but in other cases it's not so obvious. The cookie which was created when you visited Yahoo.com to check your email may be called kylie minogue@yahoo.txt for example. Unfortunately some cookies refer to the IP address of the site you visited and so look more like kylie minogue@145.147.25.21. These cookies can be selectively deleted one at a time if it's obvious which ones are causing a threat to your security, or you can just wipe out the whole lot in one fell swoop and have them recreated as and when they are required. However, if
you're really struggling to find your cookie jar, you could delete your cookies via your browser's tool bar instead. In Internet Explorer this can be done through the 'Tools' > 'Internet Options' menu items.
If all this sounds like too much hassle, you can always find a labour saving program which will be happy to take the job off your hands. These 'cookie crunching' programs allow you to be more selective when editing, viewing and deleting cookies from your system, and some of them will even prevent cookies from being created in the first place. Yes, I know you're hungry for links so I won't deprive you. Have a look here - Code:
hxxp://www.rbaworld.com/Programs/CookieCruncher/ Cookie
Cruncher
hxxp://www.thelimitsoft.com/ Cookie Crusher
hxxp://www.angove.com/ Cookie Killer
hxxp://www.kburra.com/ Cookie Pal
and
hxxp://www.cookiecentral.com/ Cookie Web Kit.
I can see you hiding in the shadows over there and so can the logs of all the web sites, FTP servers and other nooks and crannies you visit on the web. The sort of information gathered by these logs and which is available to the webmasters of the sites you visit include the address of the previous site you visited, your IP address, your computer's ID name, your physical location and the name of your ISP along with less personal details such as the operating system you're using and your screen resolution. If someone was snooping through your dustbin to gather information on consumer trends or tracking your every move to see where it is you go everyday you wouldn't be too chuffed would you. Well the web is no different, it's still an invasion of privacy and a threat to security and you don't have to put up with it.
Proxy servers:
Every time you visit a web site, detailed information about your system is automatically provided to the webmaster. This information can be used by hackers to exploit your computer or can be forwarded to the market research departments of consumer corporations who by tracking your activities on the internet are better equipped to direct more relevant spam at you. Your best defence against this is to use what is known as a proxy server, which will hide revealing information from the web sites you visit, allowing you to surf the web anonymously. These work by altering the way in which your browser retrieves web pages or connects to remote servers. With a proxy server set up, whenever you 'ask' IE or Netscape to look at a web page, the request is first sent through an external server which is completely independent of your ISP's servers. This third party server then does the requesting on your behalf so that it appears that the request came from them rather than you and your real IP address is never disclosed to the sites you visit. There is nothing to download and the whole process takes less than a minute.
There are two different ways to use proxy servers and both have their advantages and disadvantages. The first method is to use a web based service. What this involves is visiting the proxy's home page each time you want to browse a web site anonymously. The core component of such a system is the dialog box where you enter the address of the web site you want to visit. Each time you enter the URL of the site you want to browse via the proxy into this box, your personal information, IP address and so on is first encrypted before being sent to the site allowing you to maintain your anonymity. Two of the best examples of this type of web based proxy service are Code:
hxxp://www.rewebber.com/
and hxxp://www.anonymizer.com/.
Obviously one disadvantage of using a web based service like Rewebber or Anonymizer, however, is that you have to visit the proxies home page each time you want to surf anonymously. You could choose to select this page as your default home page, but it's still quite awkward if you're forever site hopping at the speed of light. The second main 'con' is that you often have to put up with extra adverts on the pages you visit. These are automatically inserted into the pages by the proxy - they have to pay for service somehow. More sophisticated and convenient solutions are also on offer yet they come with a price tag.
The second method you can use to protect your privacy via a proxy server involves adjusting the settings of your web browser so that you can surf anonymously without having to visit the home page of your proxy each time. To do this you will first need to know the name of your proxy server and the port number it uses. This information can be gleaned from either a public proxy server list or the FAQ referring to a private subscription based service. Once you have the name of the proxy server you wish to use, select 'Internet Options' from the 'Tools' menu of your browser. Now select 'Connections' followed by 'Settings' and tick the 'use a proxy server' check box. To finish the job all you have to do now is enter the name of the server in the 'address' box, the port which it uses in the 'port' box and go forth and surf anonymously.
Free, manual proxy servers as advertised on anonymity sites, if you can find one at all, are likely to be highly oversubscribed, and as a result the speed at which they retrieve web pages can deteriorate. In which case you can go in pursuit of a public proxy server list and select an alternative from it, which can then be set up manually. To locate such a list you can investigate sites such as Code:
hxxp://www.proxys4all.com/
however, this method isn't problem free either, so before you get too carried away and go jumping on the anonymity bandwagon there are a few things you should be aware of. It's very easy to use proxies to protect your privacy, but often the disadvantages of using them far out weigh the benefits. You see, the problem is that, like the proxy servers provided Rewebber et al, free, public proxies are nearly all over subscribed and so they can slow down web browsing considerably. Digging out fast reliable proxy servers is an art form in itself and is a skill which takes considerable practice. You could find a list of public proxy servers and then experiment with each one until you find one that runs at a reasonable speed, but this can be very time consuming and frustrating. Instead, your search would be much more efficient if you got a dedicated program to carry out this task for you. There are literally dozens of proxy seeking programs around which can do just that, and many of them are available as freeware. What these do is scan the internet for public proxy servers. These servers are then tested for speed and anonymity (not all of them are truly anonymous, even if they claim to be!) and once you find one which suits your requirements you can select it as your default proxy with the click of a button.
One of the most significant advantages of using an automated tool to locate proxy servers is that you do not have to keep editing your proxy settings manually each time you wish to try out a new one. Instead, what you do is enter 'localhost' or '127.0.0.1' into the 'address' box and '8088' into the 'port' box of your browser's proxy settings menu and then forget about it. All future proxy switching is then orchestrated from within your proxy seeking software, which subsequently relays the information to your browser or whatever type of application you are attempting to make anonymous. For those of you who are curious 'localhost' and the IP address '127.0.0.1' are the names by which every computer on the internet refers to itself.
Here's a good selection of links, which should help you to get started - Code:
hxxp://www.a4proxy.com/ Anonymity 4 Proxy
hxxp://www.helgasoft.com/hiproxy/ Hi Proxy
hxxp://www.proxy-verifier.com/ Proxy Verifier
hxxp://www.photono-software.de/ Stealther.
You may find that even when using these programs you have difficulty finding good proxy servers. It is for this reason that many people choose only to use proxy servers temporarily whilst doing something which may land them in trouble with their ISP, or in a worst case scenario with the law. The most obvious example of a situation in which you would want to cover your tracks is when scanning for public FTP servers and subsequently uploading to them. Most other net activities are unlikely to incur serious consequences so under these circumstances you can safely surf the web without a proxy. If you're really serious about protecting your privacy, however, your best bet is probably to invest in a dedicated, stable proxy such as the ones offered by Code:
hxxp://www.ultimate-anonymity.com/ Ultimate Anonymity
These aren't free, but may be worth the expense if you aren't keen on continuously switching proxy servers.
Before splashing out though it may be worth checking if your current ISP has a proxy server of its own which you can use. These aren't there to help you to commit cyber crimes and get away with it, they actually have a legitimate purpose as well - otherwise they wouldn't exist. You see, proxy servers were originally designed to help speed up web page loading times. Proxy servers contain a cache of all the web pages which have been requested via the browsers of the people using the proxy. When someone surfs the web using a proxy, the proxy first checks to see if it already has a copy of the web page stored in its cache. If this version of the page is bang up to date, it is sent to your computer and appears in your browser. If the page found in the cache of the proxy server is older than the one stored on the server hosting the page, a new request to the web server is made and the page is updated in the cache of the proxy before being sent to you. Because these servers use very fast internet connections they can retrieve web pages at much greater speeds than you can via your modest home setup. If these servers are located physically nearer to your home than the web host servers you wish to retrieve web pages from, the speed at which you browse the web will be accelerated.
Anonymity - Cookies
One last important point you need to be aware of before jumping in with both feet is that different programs have to be setup in different ways before being able to make external connections via a proxy server. For example, you can surf the web anonymously by modifying the settings in Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator as explained earlier in this tutorial, but this will only affect your browser. If you then used Flash FXP to copy a batch of 0-day releases from one FTP server to another, this isn't going to protect you in the slightest. What you have to do is enter the name of the proxy server into each application you wish to make anonymous before making any external connections. This can usually be done by browsing through the preferences of your program to see if there is a 'use proxy server' option available. If there is, make sure you use it!
Cookies:
You have little to fear from the edible variety, but the digital ones can be a major threat to your security and privacy. A cookie is a tiny text file (usually less than 1kb in size), which is created and stored on your hard drive whenever you visit a dynamic (or an interactive if you like) web site. These are used to log your personal details so that you can access members only areas of web sites without having to type in a password every time, or to retain your customised settings so that they are available the next time you visit. If you're using a shared computer, anyone who visits the same site that you have previously logged in to can access your accounts. This is particularly worrying if you have entered your credit card details into a form on an e-commerce site. If your browser is set to automatically fill in these details whenever you
return to a previously visited site, this information could be clearly visible - you don't need me to explain the problems this could entail.
The solution to this problem is to delete any cookies which contain sensitive data once you have completed your transactions. Your cookies will be stored in a different place depending on which operating system you are using so you will have to use your detective skills to find them. As an example, in Windows XP they are located in your 'c:\Documents and Settings\Kylie Minogue\Cookies' directory (that is if your name is Kylie Minogue. Mine isn't in case you're wondering!). If you look in this directory, in some cases it is easy to identify which cookie is associated with which web site, but in other cases it's not so obvious. The cookie which was created when you visited Yahoo.com to check your email may be called kylie minogue@yahoo.txt for example. Unfortunately some cookies refer to the IP address of the site you visited and so look more like kylie minogue@145.147.25.21. These cookies can be selectively deleted one at a time if it's obvious which ones are causing a threat to your security, or you can just wipe out the whole lot in one fell swoop and have them recreated as and when they are required. However, if
you're really struggling to find your cookie jar, you could delete your cookies via your browser's tool bar instead. In Internet Explorer this can be done through the 'Tools' > 'Internet Options' menu items.
If all this sounds like too much hassle, you can always find a labour saving program which will be happy to take the job off your hands. These 'cookie crunching' programs allow you to be more selective when editing, viewing and deleting cookies from your system, and some of them will even prevent cookies from being created in the first place. Yes, I know you're hungry for links so I won't deprive you. Have a look here - Code:
hxxp://www.rbaworld.com/Programs/CookieCruncher/ Cookie
Cruncher
hxxp://www.thelimitsoft.com/ Cookie Crusher
hxxp://www.angove.com/ Cookie Killer
hxxp://www.kburra.com/ Cookie Pal
and
hxxp://www.cookiecentral.com/ Cookie Web Kit.
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