Sunday, December 21, 2008

Computer Security Update December 2008.

As I am a newb myself, most of the contents of this post I adopted from websites such lifehacker.com and tinkernut.com. Feel free to check these out, later.

In order to maintain good computer performance, a user will have to mind her/his computer's capacity and the allocation of this capacity.

As the computer does not choose for itself, the user has to wise up.



1- CHECK YOUR STARTUP PROCESSES.

1.Select “Run” from your Start-menu and type ”msconfig”.

2.Click the “Startup” tab and go through all the processes. Uncheck the box of processes you do not want to run at startup.

3.If you have question(s) about what a process does, go to;
- http://www.processlibrary.com/
- http://sysinfo.org/
and key in the process you want to know about (whether it's vital or not) with the ending “.exe”.

4.You'll know which process is which as these sites will clearly indicate the malwares.



2- CHECK THE SERVICES.

1.From step – 1 above, click the “Services” tab and do the same thingy (check the processes).

2.After checking “Startup” and “Services”, save the new setting and the computer will prompt you for restart. Go ahead and restart the computer.

3.If you did it right, you'll have a swift startup.



3- REMOVE THE MALWARES.

1. You can use 'online scans' at;
- Windows live OneCare safety scanner
http://onecare.live.com/site/en-US/center/howsafe.htm?s_cid=mscom_msrt
etc.
2. You can download various malware removal tools. Some of the bests are (from 2 June 2008);
- Spybot
http://www.safer-networking.org/en/home/index.html
- Ad-aware from Lavasoft
http://www.lavasoft.com/?langref=DE
- Microsoft Windows (reg) Malicious software removal tool, if you're using Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows 2000, or Windows Server 2003.
http://www.microsoft.com/security/malwareremove/default.mspx



4- CLEAN YOUR REGISTRY.

1.Let's see what John (some guy who left a darn good comment at About.com) has to say about this;

“Registry clean-up programs are a must. Trial versions of software, and free online games will leave behind reg keys that will slow your system down. And not just frivolous stuff either, any uninstall will leave behind folders and files that are just taking up space, and may try to re-install if associated with a RegKey! Revo Uninstaller (http://www.revouninstaller.com/revo_uninstaller_free_download.html) is very effective. Ccleaner (http://www.ccleaner.com/download) daily! It cleans up the internet cache, another culprit that drags your system. Wise Registry Cleaner (Not sure) and Eusing Free (http://www.eusing.com/free_registry_cleaner/registry_cleaner.htm) are both good, and FREE!”


2.That's about the size of it.

*Some sites with free downloads will have pop-up(s). You'll just have to put up with it. (speaking of pop-ups, Google Pop-ups Blocker is a great tool...but that's a different issue).


*If you just love to try new softwares, you can always check out sourceforge.net (source of free, awesome softwares, even for improving security) or google for new softwares looking for beta testers.

Raman, over and out.

Sunday, November 30, 2008

Phone fit for E-Codes.




While I was 'hunting' at the back of my computer's brain for outdated, space-consuming documents, I came across a word document I named „halal“. It's a collection of E-Codes or E-Ingredients, once, very useful to me. Now, I don't really use it as I'm already used to eating the same, boring foods I know, 'safe'.

To those of you who never heard of E-Codes / E-Ingredients before, I will try to give it to you in a nutshell.

E-Codes / E-Ingredients are codes of a standard classing system invented to help food producers comply to laws for food standard, of countries / unions (like the EU) which require them to print the ingredients, clearly, on the packaging of foods.

Now, carrying a list of E-Codes around while you shop for groceries could be a hassle. Here's where technology butts in.

Determined to delete this word document once and for all, I google'd for alternatives and stumbled upon these websites:


http://www.getjar.com/products/8291/HalalGuide


You may download the program in .JAD or .JAR format, first to computer then to hand phone or directly to hand phone (via WAP). Although, I would suggest the former as it's definitely free.

It is designed to work with the J2ME platform and requires your hand phone to work with MIDP. Choose from a wide selection of hand phone / pocket PC / palm device, the program and then off you go.

There should be no problem with downloading it as it is active. However, I tried it on my O2 XDA Nova (HTC Elf model P3450) but it did not work. There seems to be a problem between the program and my MIDlet.

Best of luck.


http://www.brothersoft.com/mobile/halal-foor-guide-with-e-codes-and-ingredients-download-1234.html


Same problem. Only that this time, it came from Brothersoft.

http://www.guidedways.com/mobile/halalguide/download_guide.php

This one works.

Just fill in the 'download' box at the top-right corner of this website with your information (do not provide dead E-mail address as this might cause problem during troubleshooting) and then the site will direct you to a page with mirror URLs.

After completing download, place this program anywhere you wish in the directory of your device and activate it.

This download should be in ZIP format so unless your device has a ZIP application, unZIP it first and then transfer it.

You can also download a PC application of the same function from this website.

That's about the size of it.

The interface of this program is user friendly, informative and very interactive.


Copyright © 2004-2007 GuidedWays.com. All rights reserved. This program is free software; you can redistribute it to whom you like but may NOT modify it in any way.This program is developed and distributed to please Allah (swt) and to help our brothers and sisters in Islam. However, this distribution is WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

(This is a disclaimer at the end of the page (third URL provided)stating that it's free)