Turn on Internet Connection Firewall in Win XP

Windows XP comes with Internet Connection Firewall, but you must turn it on to use it.

To turn on Internet Connection Firewall:

1.Point to Control Panel, double-click Network and Internet Connections, and then click Set up or change your home or small office network.
2.Follow the steps in the Network Setup Wizard to turn on the Internet Connection Firewall.

When you choose a configuration in the wizard that indicates that your computer is connected directly to the Internet, the Internet Connection Firewall is turned on.

Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) and Windows Vista come with Windows Firewall automatically turned on

What is Malware and How Do I Know if I My Computer Is Infected?

Malware is any type of malicious software such as spyware, adware, or viruses that harms your computer's performance or security. Most malware infections stem from Internet activity which include downloading files or even just browsing Internet sites. Most measures for protecting against malware focus on ways to make Internet browsing more secure

Various symptoms can be associated with malware, so any one (or a combination) of the following symptoms could be good indicators of malware infection.

Browser Redirects, Popups, Homepage Changes: The browser may suddenly redirect to an unknown website, or a previously set homepage may change without warning or input.
Slow Computer Response: The computer may seem to "lock up" or run slow during regular use. It is also not uncommon to experience delays in the operating system loading to the desktop.
Processor Utilization at 100% in Task Manager: The processor seems to be working overtime and/or slowly. To check the processor utilization or the Kernel Memory status, press the "ctrl"+"alt" +"del" keys at the same time. Then click the Performance tab. Processor utilization is indicated by the CPU Usage gauge.
Virtual Memory Low Message: This message will keep appearing no matter what changes are made to resolve the issue.

For detailed information on Malware, refer to the Wikipedia entry on Malware: http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malware

Restore Previous Backup in Windows XP

Click the Start button, point to Programs, Accessories, System Tools, and click Files and Settings Transfer Wizard Click Next.
When prompted to select which computer, select New computer, and click Next.
When prompted about the Windows XP CD, select the last choice, I don't need the Wizard Disk. I have already collected my files and settings from my old computer, and then click Next.
When prompted to select the location of the files and settings, insert the disk (CD, DVD, floppy) into the appropriate drive, or connect the storage medium (USB disk/drive) on which your saved your last backup.
Click to select Other, and then click Browse.
The Browse For Folder window appears.
Browse to the location of your previously created backup image, and then click OK.
Click Next to start the transfer.
After the wizard completes, the files and settings backed up previously should now be present on your system.

Back Up Files and Settings in Win XP

While the Files and Settings Transfer Wizard, a new feature in Windows XP, is normally used to transfer files and settings from an older system to a new one, it can also be used as a backup utility. Once the wizard has collected all the necessary files into a single place, it can be moved onto a removable storage device, such as an external hard drive or recordable CD or DVD, for later use.

To use the Files and Settings Transfer Wizard as a backup utility:

On the Start menu, click Programs, point to Accessories, System Tools, Files and Settings Transfer Wizard.
Click Next.
Because you are collecting data, select Old Computer (even if this is your primary system) and then click Next.
A Please Wait screen displays as the Wizard collects the locations of some files. This screen may remain for several minutes; if the hard drive activity light is visible, it is still running.
On the next screen, select Other. Save the wizard's data file to your storage medium of choice.
At this point, you can save the data file to a temporary location on the hard drive (for example, the Desktop), and then copy or move it to the backup storage medium of your choice at a later time. Backup storage includes external hard drives, CDs/DVDs, and USB memory keys.
Click Next.
Under What do you want to transfer?, select the appropriate option. The Settings only option requires very little space, whereas the Both files and settings option requires however much space all the files take up. This can be a significant amount of data.
The Let me select a custom list of files and settings when I click Next option is for advanced users who know where additional file folders they want to keep are located. If you want to add additional files to the backup, select this option.
Click Next. If any programs require special procedures, they are mentioned now and instructions are provided.
The file collection process begins.
You may now save the .DAT file generated by the Files and Settings Transfer Wizard to the storage medium of your choice (mentioned in Step 5), as long as you selected the appropriate option in the steps above

Repair Tools for the Conficker Family of Viruses

The Conficker Working Group has built a website to consolidate information on removal tools for the Conficker family of viruses. To view the full list of removal tools available for the virus, visit

http://www.confickerworkinggroup.org/wiki/pmwiki.php?n=ANY.RepairTools

How to use Multiple Yahoo Messenger in a single computer

1. Click on Start Menu
2. Click Run
3. Type “regedit” without the quotes, press Enter
4. Navigate to and expand the following in the said order: HKEY_CURRENT_USER> Software> Yahoo> pager >Test
5. Right-click on Test and create a new DWORD value (32 bit).
6. Rename that value as “Plural” without the quotes.
7. Set the value of “Plural” to 1.
After that close that window and click to yahoo messenger. And then enjoy it.

Conficker worm - Beware!!!

What does the Conficker worm do?The Conficker worm has created secure infrastructure for cybercrime. The worm allows its creators to remotely install software on infected machines. What will that software do? We don’t know. Most likely the worm will be used to create a botnet that will be rented out to criminals who want to send SPAM, steal IDs and direct users to online scams and phishing sites.
The Conficker worm mostly spreads across networks. If it finds a vulnerable computer, it turns off the automatic backup service, deletes previous restore points, disables many security services, blocks access to a number of security web sites and opens infected machines to receive additional programs from the malware’s creator. The worm then tries to spread itself to other computers on the same network.

If you have a computer that is infected, you will need to use an uninfected computer to download a specialized Conficker removal tool from. The tool is available here:
http://www.symantec.com/security_response/writeup.jsp?docid=2009-011316-0247-99
Or, you can restore access to security web sites on an infected machine by taking the following steps:
Click Start > Run. In the Run box, type the following: cmd Click OK. Type the following and then press Enter. cd.. Repeat the previous step until you get to the root level, or C:\>. Note that if your root drive is not C, the letter will be different. At C:\> type the following: net stop dnscache Press Enter. This disables the domain blocking feature of Conficker and you should now be able to reach security Web sites including ours.

Advice to Stay Safe from the Downadup Worm:Run a good security suite (we are partial to Norton Internet Security 2009 and Norton 360 Version 3.0). Keep your computer updated with the latest patches. If you don’t know how to do this, have someone help you set your system to update itself. Don’t use “free” security scans that pop up on many web sites. All too often these are fake, using scare tactics to try to get you to purchase their “full” service. In many cases these are actually infecting you while they run. There is reason to believe that the creators of the Conficker worm are associated with some of these fake security products. Turn off the “autorun” feature that will automatically run programs found on memory sticks and other USB devices. Be smart with your passwords. This includes Change your passwords periodically Use complex passwords – no simple names or words, use special characters and numbers Using a separate, longer password for each site that has sensitive personal information or access to your bank accounts or credit cards. Use a passwords management system such as Identity Safe (included in Norton Internet Security 2009 and Norton 360 Version 3.0) to track your passwords and to fill out forms automatically.

How to stop Yahoo Messenger from starting up during windows logon

By default, the yahoo messenger starts at the windows startup, which is a good feature but at times, it causes inconvenience. cpu and memory is allocated to it even though we do not use it. it sits in the startup tray icons at the bottom right.

We can stop yahoo messenger to autostart while the computer is starting up from an inbuilt utility of Windows, called MSCONFIG. I will walk you through the steps on how to stop yahoo messenger to load at the startup and increase the performance of the computer.

1. Click on Start then click on Run 
2. Run dialog box opens, now type in - msconfig  and click OK button
3. A New window will open, which as System Configuration Utility
4. there will be few tabs on top of the window. click on the tab which says Startup
5. you will find a list of startup items listed there which are meant to start at the time when the windows load. So find the start up item which says YahooMessenger and then uncheck the check box.
6. After Unchecking, click on Apply button and then click on the OK button
7. Another dialog box will popup which says to restart the computer, Hit Restart button and once the computer loads back on the desktop, it will give you a System configuration utility message. At this message, Check the box which says, Do not show this again and hit OK.

Now that you have changed the configuration of the system, you will see that the yahoo messenger is missing from the system tray icon near the bottom right hand side.

NOTE: this doesnt mean that the yahoo messenger is uninstalled. you can still use the messenger by going to Start-All Programs - Yahoo Messenger - Yahoo Messenger

Hope this helped you.

How to Speed up Internet Browsing?

Hi,

Sluggish and slow internet connections often make us frustrated and we end up refreshing the web browser again and again or wait huge amount of time to get a picture loaded. Well, there are 2 reasons for this situations. Firstly the internet connection itself, for which you need to contact your internet service provider(ISP) and Secondly, its the Browser which you are using to access the websites.
Most of the time, its Internet Explorer which is used for browsing the websites. In order to isolate the issue from the browser, the best you can do is to delete the temporary internet files and the cookies which are stored in your computer. Following are the basic steps to delete the temporary internet files and the cookies in almost all Internet Explorers provided by Microsoft.
1. Open the Internet Explorer
2. Click on the tools menus and then click internet options
3. A New dialog box will open which have various buttons, you need find the sections which says to delete the cookies and delete temporary internet files
4. confirm the deletion and then, your internet browser is cleared of the load which it was carrying and thus it becomes faster.

Note: this is the basic logic in deleting the temporary internet files and cookies from the computer.