Remove Blackworm Virus

Blackworm is a nasty internet worm which can delete DOC, XLS, MDE, MDB, PPT, PPS, RAR, PDF, PSD, DMP, and ZIP files. In addition to Blackworm, the worm has been named Kama Sutra, Blackmal, MyWife and Nyxem. This worm started on the 3rd of February and has been programmed to attack an infected computer on the 3rd of every month thereafter. So far it has been estimated that over 300,000 computers all over the world have been infected. Besides destroying those types of files, the worm also tries to disable anti-virus software so that it stops updating. It can also disable the keyboard and mouse of infected computers. Some Internet users have already lost important files after becoming infected by the Blackworm mainly because the clock time on their computer was wrong.

Like many Internet worms, Blackworm attempts to spread by mailing itself to contacts in a user's address book. The e-mails containing the worm can have a wide variety of subject fields and attachment names. The worm also tries to add itself to the auto-start programs in the Windows registy. Once a computer in a network has been infected, Blackworm will try to infect all other systems in the network.

To prevent getting infected by Blackworm you shouldn't open attachments or click on Web links within these e-mails, especially if these e-mails have a porn-related subject line. Use caution before opening any e-mail attachments, even if you know the sender. You should also backup any important files that you want to preserve. Most antivirus products will detect Blackworm assuming the worm hasn't disabled the antivirus software. Because of this, it is important to frequently update your antivirus software. It is also recommended to scan your computer for viruses and use a firewall. To prevent the worm from spreading to other computers in a network, you should use strong passwords on all the users accounts.

How To Identify A Virus Infected E-mail Message?

It is often difficult to identify an infected e-mail message. The way modern viruses and mass mailing internet worms function, messages can seem to arrive from friends or colleagues. In reality most infected messages are being automatically sent by another infected machine who has no idea their machine even has a problem. Since the virus or worm pretend to be the owner of the infected computer it can be hard for you when you get unexpected email messages from them.

Here are a few important things to watch for:

1) E-mail messages from people you don't know (including and especially SPAM). These are usually the culprits that put a virus on your computer.

2) E-mail messages from friends or family that you were not expecting (especially if they contain attachments). It is possible that these may not be from people you know, but may actually be spam messages.

3) Attachments in an email with subject lines that seem inappropriate or strange, even if it's from someone you know. For example, an email from your retired father who is on a beach in Mexio titled "Update on system report" is suspicious.

4) You should NEVER EVER launch an attachment that ends with an .exe, .pif, .com, .bat, or .scr extension until you have scanned it with up-to-date virus scanner. Even files ending with .doc, and .xls (word and excel documents) can carry macro viruses and should be scanned. It does not matter if you completely 100% trust the person it came from. SCAN IT.

5) Never open SPAM email. Spam email is too easy to copy and use to send a nasty virus. I'm not saying spammers send viruses, but virus senders/creators do use spam-like messages to send their viruses, Trojans, and internet worms around.

6) If you're not 100% sure the email is legitimate, call the sender and ask before opening the attachment. If you're sure you've received an e-mail message with a virus, you should delete the email WITHOUT opening the email or the attachment. If it is important, it can always be resent.

7) Email is becoming the #1 method for viruses, worms and Trojan horses to spread. Take extra special care with your email, and you will not only protect yourself, but prevent yourself from accidentally becoming a spreader of virus loaded email messages.

The smartest thing to do is simply install a very affordable antivirus program (like Norton, McAfee, or PC-cillin) and set it to automatically scan all incoming and outgoing email messages and attachments. This way you protect your own computer, and make sure you don't forward any infected messages to your friends and family.

The most important thing you have to realize is that viruses cannot get on your computer by themselves. You do have to put them there by opening files that can contain the harmful viruses. They could wipe out your hard drive, which could be detrimental for you if you have important files stored there and for which you don't have a back up disk.

If you do get a virus on your computer, you don't have to panic. If a virus is active in the memory, the anti-virus software may not be able to detect it. If you really want to make sure your computer doesn't have a virus, turn it off and reboot it using a disk that you know doesn't contain any virus such as your antivirus software's recovery disk.

Why Easy To Use Software Is Putting You At Risk

Can Easy To Use Software Also Be Secure
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Anyone who has been working with computers for a long time will have noticed that mainstream operating systems and applications have become easier to use over the years (supposedly). Tasks that use to be complex procedures and required experienced professional to do can now be done at the push of a button. For instance, setting up an Active Directory domain in Windows 2000 or higher can now be done by a wizard leading even the most novice technical person to believe they can "securely" setup the operating environment. This is actually quite far from the truth. Half the time this procedure fails because DNS does not configure properly or security permissions are relaxed because the end user cannot perform a specific function.

If It's Easy To Develop, Is It Also Secure
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One of the reasons why operating systems and applications "appear" to be easier to work with then they use to is developers have created procedures and reusable objects to take care of all the complex tasks for you. For instance, back in the old days when I started as a developer using assembly language and c/c++, I had to write pretty much all the code myself. Now everything is visually driven, with millions of lines of code already written for you. All you have to do is create the framework for your application and the development environment and compiler adds all the other complex stuff for you. Who wrote this other code? How can you be sure it is secure. Basically, you have no idea and there is no easy way to answer this question.

Secure Environments Don't Exist Well With Complexity
----------------------------
The reality is it may look easier on the surface but the complexity of the backend software can be incredible. And guess what, secure environments do not coexist well with complexity. This is one of the reasons there are so many opportunities for hackers, viruses, and malware to attack your computers. How many bugs are in the Microsoft Operating System? I can almost guarantee that no one really knows for sure, not even Microsoft developers. However, I can tell you that there are thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of bugs, holes, and security weaknesses in mainstream systems and applications just waiting to be uncovered and maliciously exploited.

How Reliable and Secure are Complex Systems?
----------------------------------------------------------
Let's draw a comparison between the world of software and security with that of the space program. Scientists at NASA have know for years that the space shuttle is one of the most complex systems in the world. With miles of wiring, incredible mechanical functions, millions of lines of operating system and application code, and failsafe systems to protect failsafe systems, and even more failsafe systems to protect other systems. Systems like the space shuttle need to perform consistently, cost effectively, and have high Mean-Time-Between-Failure(MTBF).

All in all the space shuttle has a good record. One thing it is not though is cost effective and consistent. Every time there is a launch different issues crop up that cause delays. In a few circumstances, even the most basic components of this complex system, like "O" rings, have sadly resulted in a fatal outcome. Why are things like this missed? Are they just not on the radar screen because all the other complexities of the system demand so much attention? There are million different variables I'm sure. The fact is, NASA scientists know they need to work on developing less complex systems to achieve their objectives.

This same principal of reducing complexity to increase security, performance, and decrease failures really does apply to the world of computers and networking. Ever time I here associates of mine talk about incredibly complex systems they design for clients and how hard they were to implement I cringe. How in the world are people suppose to cost effectively and reliably manage such things. In some cases it's almost impossible. Just ask any organization how many versions or different brands of intrusion detection systems they have been through. As them how many times the have had infections by virus and malware because of poorly developed software or applications. Or, if they have ever had a breach in security because the developer of a specific system was driven by ease of use and inadvertently put in place a piece of helpful code that was also helpful to a hacker.

Can I Write A Document Without A Potential Security Problem Please
-----------------------------------------------
Just a few days ago I was thinking about something as simple as Microsoft Word. I use MS-Word all the time, every day in fact. Do you know how powerful this application really is? Microsoft Word can do all kinds of complex tasks like math, algorithms, graphing, trend analysis, crazy font and graphic effects, link to external data including databases, and execute web based functions.

Do you know what I use it for, to write documents. nothing crazy or complex, at least most of the time. Wouldn't it be interesting that when you first installed or configured Microsoft Word, there was an option for installing only a bare bones version of the core product. I mean, really stripped down so there was not much to it. You can do this to a degree, but all the shared application components are still there. Almost every computer I have compromised during security assessments has had MS-Word installed on it. I can't tell you how many times I have used this applications ability to do all kinds of complex tasks to compromise the system and other systems further. We'll leave the details of this for another article though.

Conclusion
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Here's the bottom line. The more complex systems get, typically in the name of ease of use for end users, the more opportunity for failure, compromise, and infection increases. There are ways of making things easy to use, perform well, and provide a wide variety of function and still decrease complexity and maintain security. It just takes a little longer to develop and more thought of security. You might think that a large part of the blame for complex insecure software should fall on the shoulders of the developers. But the reality is it is us, the end users and consumers that are partially to blame. We want software that is bigger, faster, can do just about everything, and we want it fast. We don't have time to wait for it to be developed in a secure manner, do we?

You may reprint or publish this article free of charge as long as the bylines are included.

Original URL (The Web version of the article)
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http://www.defendingthenet.com/NewsLetters/WhyEasyToUseSoftwareIsPuttingYouAtRisk.htm

Registry Cleaners and You

Diagnosing the Brain: Your Computer's Registry

Many of us use our computers every day, unaware of the daily assaults they endure from adding and deleting files and programs or simply surfing the internet. Every action a computer does requires accessing its registry, and over time, these actions begin to affect the computer's ability to read its internal registry, which is kind of like an inventory of all the information on your computer that tells it how to run files and programs. Your computer constantly modifies that registry to account for any changes you make whether it’s saving a one-page word document or doing some major programming. If enough changes are made, you may find that your computer's basic functions have been affected. It may run a little slower, display strange error messages, fail to end programs successfully, or even be unable to run at all. Many people have computer problems that are rooted in the registry, but few know what to do to remedy the problem.

Delete it, or Scrub it Clean? Fixing Computer Registry Errors

Because the registry is such a sensitive and vital part of your computer's operation, it takes a skilled technician to correctly clean it, and it can take such a specialist several hours, or even days, to inventory a whole file directory. For this reason, many people prefer to reformat the hard drive entirely, even going as far as reinstalling the operating system. Although this fix is pretty much always effective, it is very time consuming because it requires backing up all the files and programs on your computer first. Of course, it is easy to forget to back up a file, but almost impossible to get it back once the reformat is complete, so before you set out to completely wipe and reinstall your hard drive, you might want to consider other options.

While it takes the most capable computer technician much time to manually inspect and correct a registry, there are software programs that do this job automatically and in half the time. These programs, called registry cleaners, are widely available, sometimes even for free. Of course, since your registry is important and complicated enough to trust to a specialist, you want to feel secure about any program that will be combing through your computer's most vital codes and folders. Before you rush out and buy the most expensive registry scrubber you can find or download the first free application you see, there is some basic information about these programs that you should know first.

Created Equal? How to Find the Right Computer Registry Scrubber for You

To the untrained eye, there seems to be only two types of registry cleaners: those that are free and those that are not. Some people assume that officially licensed Windows programs work best and automatically purchase a registry scrubber. Others, faced with two seemingly identical programs, one of which is free, will always choose the free program. In reality, there is no correlation between price and quality. There are some equally good programs in both camps, and the only way to tell the difference is to get a sense of what people are saying about the programs and to compare the features of each choice.

Not all registry scrubbers are created equal. Some perform incomplete scans, leaving corrupted files and folders, and a few can actually damage your computer further. One way to get a sense of what a specific registry scrubber actually does is to look at its features and its ability to access and provide technical support. Each registry scrubber uses different cleaning features, including registry optimizers and compactors, adware and spyware removers, and deep scans. There are also features that focus on communicating with the user, such as those that offer detailed descriptions of any problems encountered or ignore lists. Comparing registry scrubber program features on a side by side basis can help you pick the application that is best for you and your PC. In general, you want the program with the most complete checklist of features, actions, and support. Keep in mind that just as there are rogue anti spyware programs out there, there are lots of rogue registry cleaners too, and those can be dangerous choices.

There are many internet sites that include side-by-side comparisons of registry cleaners, but be careful about advice from sites that advertise a particular program. More objective advice is best, especially when judging reviews. While reviews are one great way to find effective and safe registry cleaner software, they are sometimes written by representatives from the software companies themselves. Look for websites that offer a lot of different reviews about a program, and consider the overall opinion of the reviewers. Once you find a program that you like, don't be afraid to do more research on it. You can find tons of blogs, forums, and even expert opinions about specific registry cleaner software that might help influence your decision. Overall, the more information you have about a program, the more likely it is that you are making a good decision.

Although it is instinct to want to try and fix the problem as soon as possible when major computer issues occur, haste is one of the worst mistakes one can make with registry cleaners. Instead of downloading or purchasing the first registry scrubber you come across, do a little research and comparative shopping before making your decision. A little time spent finding the right registry scrubber can save you time and heartbreak later.

Ebay: My Shopping Genie

A new eBay certified software, My Shopping Genie, was introduced on February 1, 2008 and people from all over the globe are getting involved in it!

After three years in development this powerful unique software is available and free to it's users. And, will revolutionize the already successful eBay.

MyShoppingGenie is unique, convenient and fast! And, with one easy download you will never have to wonder, is this the best deal again! Just enter a search using your favorite search engine and the Genie instantly appears! Finding what you are looking for and accessing your desired items at lightening-quick speeds. The software is amazing.

The already successful eBay is bound to take even more and is offering people the opportunity to go along with them by becoming an affiliate. Afflilate's are receiving the opportunity to earn money by giving away their free downloads of the Genie, which has already gone global.

To become involved in the program visit http://www.myshoppinggenie.com/shoppingez and click on the affiliate link.

To receive your free download of the MyShoppingGenie visit http://www.myshoppinggenie.com/shoppingez.

ERP Academic Base

Guadalajara, Mexico 09/03/2007

MicroTec Software

We are proud to anounce the first oficial release of the ERP (Enterprise Resource Planing System) Academic Base. The brand new ERP is created for the School Administration en special for all kind of Schools. This special Software include all nececary things for the Administration from Students to Business, include Coordination, Human Resources, Financials (include Tax Reports) Archives, Bibliotecs, Billings and Buyings, Financial Statements and a lot other Resources for all kind of Administration parts.

MicroTec Software is one of the only ones specialised in School Administration around the world. Our ERP include also the standards of API for conecting your online School and one API for online conections can be used from Students and Teachers with her own Menu. Parents will have access for a fast look how are her Childrens in the School, Students can look what are the skins for the next Class, Evolutions, payments and a lot more. Academic Base is the cheapest and the most powerfull ERP in the market at the moment. We sell our ERP in the Basic include 5 Licences) for 15,000 Pesos Mexicanos, around 1,500 USD include all.

For special kinds of Administration we have a lot of Modules that are not direct include in the whole package. MicroTec Software offers for the Clients also the re-design in parts of automatization, Control flow and SQL for all of our Clients.

We have 30 days trial Versions for all interesting Schools. This Trial Versions we will send as CD direct to the Office include instructions. In this period the interesting Schools can tell us what their will be changed specialised in our ERP.

Lists of include Modules, Prices and what we offer more include in our ERPs all interesting People can find the relevant informations in our website, include Fotogalery around the ERP and the most importand parts of the Administration.

Your All-in-One Medical Billing Software

Do you have trouble keeping all your files, data, and reports sorted, yet easy to find? The latest medical billing software will do that for you as well as save the amount of time you spend searching and accessing that information; the costs it takes to manage all the different databases, and the headaches you get from worrying about all the various aspects of your business.

Consolidate Offices—Medical billing software allows you to consolidate all your offices together. You will not have to log-in and log-out of a bunch of different databases; that’s all taken care of with this system. All you need to do is log-in through this billing system, and manage each separate account without the hassle of going into multiple databases.

Work From Home—Do you have a computer and broadband connection? That means you are ready to go. Once logged into the system, you can work from your home, office, or on the road. If you’re not in the office, you don’t have to worry whether or not your business information is staying up-to-date. With medical billing software, you’re able to manage and stay on top of your business functions at all times and places.

Easy-to-Use—The #1 web-based software is simple to use. Your clients will reap the benefits from you using this system. Without the hassle of going through multiple databases, you will be able to close out all your business day dealings in a timely manner. The data always stays separate and doesn’t require duplication or extras hassle. Quick, easy, and efficiently, the job will get done right and on time for the convenience of your customers.

Security—Your data is safe and backed up at all times. Medical billing software is protected through HIPPA-compliant servers that only you and other authorized staff members can access. If you ever have a problem, a team is ready and willing to help at all times. The support team will answer as quickly as possible to solve any needs or concerns about your system.

Payment—Medical billing software won’t take much money out of your business either. You can pay monthly as you go and don’t have to worry about or deal with large, up-front software fees. Best of all, no long-term commitment is required. You’ll see and experience the benefits right away as you use the software to maximize your business.

If you’re looking to upgrade, or just want to save time and money, give medical billing software a try. With less headaches and stress, you will be able to concentrate on the really important matters of your business. Medical billing software is definitely your solution to smarter billing and efficient client service.

SMS SOFTWARE AND SMS GATEWAY

SMS,Gateway,Internet Mobile SMS,SMS Software , SMS Products, India SMS,Bangalore SMS,Bulk SMS software and products,Cheap SMS,

Article Body:

SMS SOFTWARE AND SMS GATEWAY

What is SMS Software ?

Software for Pocket PC, PDA and smart phones is a simple powerful easy to use messaging utility that allows you to create and send group (mass) sms messages to list of selective contacts, phonebook or individuals globally. It allows you to create and send bulk SMS from PC to your customers via mobile phone connected to by Microsoft ActiveSync and Windows Mobile Device Center. The

bulk SMS utility is gaining in popularity with companies finding it a useful and cost effective means of reaching consumers.

Send SMS at Very Cheap Price in India and All Over the World

For More Details about this software visit this site

http://softwaresms.blogspot.com

Why Change To Windows Vista: Part 1 of 4

Why Change To Windows Vista: Part 1 of 4

Microsoft has published an extensive list of 100 reasons why the Tennessee Mountain Man and you should make the switch to Windows Vista. Microsoft should have outsourced it's brain storming of reasons to switch to Vista, but then it may not have received such favorable reviews. 'Remote help desk 1' will take a brief look at their reasoning.

'Remote helpdesk 1' has said before, in it's humble opinion, Microsoft has had no new thoughts since Windows 3 and Windows NT. To understand the thought process of the online helpdesk...perhaps we will explore the issue one day next week.

Outsourced IT Services having gotten that off the chest one more time, let us peek inside the reasons Microsoft thinks there is no place for those like Martha Stewart and Lyle Waggoner of 1965 Tareyton Ads who had rather fight than switch.

MS#1. "It makes using your PC a breeze."

So says Microsoft. The Tennessee Mountain Man says it sure makes the computer slow enough for most to keep up. Probably preferred by the turtles who had rather fight than switch from DSL. We'll give them credit for this, it sure runs more like a breeze than a good head wind which is preferred whether sailing or surfing.

MS#2. "Because all of your music is just a remote control click away"

Most people use remote controls on their TVs, DVDs, etc...not computers with the exception of the online remote computer repair techs who still must use a computer to reach out and perform computer examination and surgery over the internet.

MS#3. "It's the safest version of Windows ever"

The Tennessee Mountain Man acknowledges we have all been assaulted by Microsoft, no less, however, by Vista operating systems. Microsoft touts Vista's "new security tools like Windows Defender, anti-spam and phishing filters, and Parental Controls. Automatic backups, Performance Self-Tuning, and built-in diagnostics"...Really? Those tools have been available for years! It may be a good thing that Microsoft found them. On the other hand they significantly slow down the PC for the turtles.

MS#4. "See your world in a whole new light"

"The breakthrough design of the Windows Aero user interface brings new clarity to your PC experience." Sorry the Tennessee Mountain Man can't see it...not even with his new glasses. It does, however, require significant computer upgrades which your computer repair shop is sure to love.

MS#5. "It can find your stuff"

Hello! Ever hear of the built in search option in all windows versions? Besides, what can one possibly lose in that little plastic box known as a computer that cannot be found unless the hard drive disintegrates? In which case neither an oline computer repair service nor Microsoft can't help you anyway.

Back to the appreciative computer repair shop!

MS#6. "Because you're always on the run"

Sorry, The Tennessee Mountain Man, even with the assistance of online computer repair services, could find nothing new here either. It was all available with earlier, faster, less expensive, and less intrusive operating systems.

MS#7. "Because you can freeze time"

Uh!!!!! No!!!!!!! I know Microsoft and Bill Gates think they are God and insist on being worshipped by all geeks, but not since Joshua has anyone accomplished that little trick. Sorry Mr Copperfield. By the way, do you need an oline computer repair service that can take care of your needs anywhere in the world? You seem to travel a lot!

MS#8. "Your PC can take care of itself: Performance Self Tuning, Self-Healing"

Reminds me of the TV Ad where the doc is telling a patient over the phone how to perform surgery on himself. Again your local as well as remote computer repair docs thank you. The average user who has ever tried to use restore disks or those built in technologies would love to strangle you. It has cost them a lot of extra dollars trying to repair the repair and unfix the fix. Microsoft knows how this goes. They are always releasing fixes to repair their fixes.

MS#9. "Unchain your mobile PC"

"Network and Sharing Center lets you set up a wireless network at home so you can experience the freedom of working from your living room, backyard, or anywhere in your home."

I'm sorry, maybe I am a little slow, maybe I missed something, but just what can you do here that you can't do in Windows 95 or NT and subsequent Microsoft operating system versions?

MS#10. "Surf more safely"

#!&%? Really? Or does it just allow Microsoft greater intrusion into our business? It is time Bill Gates learned to mind his own!

And, Better not miss the last paragraph, i.e. "Some product features are only available in certain editions of Windows Vista and may require advanced or additional hardware".

MS#11. "Help protect your kids online"

Oh, yes! Drop your kid off in front of that computer, trust Microsoft and Bill Gates and see how long it takes that child to get approached by an abuser or solicited or get into some kind of trouble.

Parents you brought them into this world. You take care of and protect them. The state can't do it, and Microsoft sure can't and has little if any incentive too.

MS#12. "Schedule showtime on your time"

The only thing The Tennessee Mountain Man is finding in Microsoft's top 100 reasons to upgrade to Vista is more costs, slower response, and more of the same issues which have contributed significantly to the destruction of the American family.

MS#13. "Because you need to know who the bad guys are"

Would someone please give Microsoft a mirror? Those who live in glass houses should not throw stones.

MS#14. "Make any room a media room"

Scraping the bottom of the barrel now, and still have 86 important reasons to upgrade to Vista to go. This is nothing more than a little disguised ad for the Xbox 360 and a recommendation to shuffle the kids off to another room and leave them alone to surf the worst of the web unsupervised.

Does Outsourced IT Services really need to go any further? Oh, not to worry. The Tennessee Mountain Man will cover all of the so called reasons to upgrade to Vista.

MS#15. "Because your PC remembers to back up for you"

So has everything including DOS if the owner set it to do so.

MS#16. "Get your new computer up and running in no time"

What is the definition of "no time". It is still not a MAC!!! You don't just open the box (sorry in this case it is boxes), plug it up, turn it on and go. No. No. Microsoft Computers don't work like that!

MS#17. "It's like having your own personal anchorman"

Say What? What is Microsoft smoking? What are they watching? The Naked News? How dumb do they think we are?

MS#18. "Create your own personal archive: Scheduled and network backup"

Apparently the author's head was so smoked, he or she forgot they had just essentially covered this in point 15, just a couple of minutes before.

MS#19. "Watch live TV on your PC"

Don't know about you, but The Tennessee Mountain Man was doing that on Windows 95 when desk space was a premium and there was no space in the room for a TV and a computer. Duh!!!!!!!!!!!

MS#20. "Set up your home network in a flash"

Vista does nothing in a flash short of a good power surge! And, setting up a network appears to be no easier nor more difficult than in any other windows version. Of course if you want a network in a flash, The Tennessee Mountain Man recommends the Debian derived Linux-based Ubuntu Operating System. When it installs and boots, the network is done!!!! Try that, Vista!!

Another warning to not miss Microsoft's last paragraph here. It appears they have proudly locked you out of some versions to increase their profits and reduce your options.

MS#21. "Put more playtime in family time"

Does Microsoft really expect that, if we like playing games on the computer, we have not been doing that since DOS and Windows 3 via the internet and LAN when the boss wasn't watching? Come on!

MS#22. "See everything you're working on at a glance"

With a simple click of the mouse, huh? Well if that is true as in single click (I haven't tried that one), then it might make Vista almost as fast at that trick as it's predecessors were with a couple of clicks to do the same thing....impressive? ....really?

MS#23. "Because it's like a digital candy store"

What more can I say? We all know about the candy man!!

MS#24. "Because you don't want to worry about spyware"

Why? Because as always Microsoft Windows installs trial programs to get you hooked, then requires you to purchase them after a short trial period from Microsoft or their vendors if you wish to keep a functioning program.

The Tennessee Mountain man never worried about such things. There are too many free superior ways to prevent and cure such infections.

MS#25. "It works with the software, hardware, and services you want"

The Tennessee Mountain Man says: "Yep, as long as you want what it works with.....and are willing to wait for the rest".

Sorry......laughing too hard to continue....we will continue tomorrow with "Why Change To Windows Vista: Part 2" on both The Tennessee Mountain Man Blog and Remote Helpdesk 1's Online Computer Repair Service Blog ..... "Why Change To Windows Vista: Part 1" is getting too long any way.

Dynamic Packaging - Travel Software Wizard

Dynamic Packaging enables travelers to create and book their dream vacation and has captured the online travel market. Although online vacation packages have been available for years, dynamic packaging is a breakthrough for offering the ultimate travel flexibility and options. Leading travel Web sites let travelers build their own vacations via dynamic packaging – juggling hotel rooms, flights, site seeing, rental cars and more into one low priced travel package.

Dynamic Packaging – Travel Business Imperative

The advent of dynamic packaging has recast the travel business more flexible, affordable and responsive. For example, Dynamic Packaging has changed the dimensions for creating and marketing travel packages. are created and marketed. Today’s growing online travel agencies offer travelers infinite options for each item on their travel itinerary. Dynamic packaging grew out of the need to provide these services for traditional tour operators and online travel agents. Once initiated, the demand for dynamic packaging fed on its success leading to its current market dominance. Today, there very few hotels, tours or services not offered on dynamic packaging systems.

Create Your Own Vacation - Dynamic Packaging

Here's an example of how dynamic packing lets travelers create their own tour to an exotic destination...First the dynamic packing system registers the new users on their travel reservation system. They promise visits to exotic locations at low affordable prices. For example,, luxury accommodations for less money, choice of resorts worldwide, exclusive resorts and more via dynamic packing. In short, dynamic packing provides all-inclusive resorts accommodations, meals, drinks, activity fees, etc. without hidden charges.

Every Day Travel - Dynamic Packaging

Two areas of business or leisure travel often cross over into every life – car rentals and commuter flights. Prior to dynamic packing travel technology, you either went early to the airport or showed up at the car rental lot. Now, dynamic packaging puts you behind the wheel or on board you flight with minimal delay. So what are you waiting for. Log on and book a flight to the exotic beach you always dreamed of visiting. Tell people you’re researching dynamic packaging and send us a post card.. Have Fun!

Web design solutions

Any company needs to have a web site. But how can it be developed? And who can do it?

On the net there are plenty of web design teams. You can also find nice templates if you like. But this will not solve your problem. In many cases a company needs a dynamic website, good looking and full featured. Such sites are very hard to find and you will need a custom software development company to program the back end.

When you intend to hire such companies to design your web site you need to know exactly what features needs to be integrated in the back end and linked to the layout. The design of the web site will be done based on the back end. The web design must be W3C standard compliant to be compatible to most of the web browsers.

The back end can be coded in many programming languages such as PHP or ASP but then the site must be installed on a compatible server. Use javascript only for small features and web design not for the entire site engine. If you don't do this, many of the pages will not be indexed correctly by search engines.

Note that your site needs to be optimised for search engines. This can be done with a good web page design, easy to be crawled.

Please visit TedallCorp - Web design for more information about web design.

How To Slow Down Music – A Guitar Player’s Dilemma

Since the early days of young guitar player’s career it is clear that practice makes perfect. As simple as it may sound, it involves a lot of time, patience and devotion in order to achieve the desired results in a timely efficient manner. Guitar students are listening to a lot of songs, doing their best to train their ear by tuning their guitar by ear, listening for the notes or even singing the notes, while not mentioning the constant practice lessons required to fine-tune their guitar skills. Everybody loves to listen to guitar solos like the ones achieved by world-wide famous guitar players such as Jimi Hendrix or Joe Satriani but few can even dream of reproducing their songs at the early days of learning to play the guitar . For this reason, the requirement and method of properly slowing down music has attracted the attention of many.

Not just once has one listened to Joe Satriani – Surfing with the alien and tried to follow the amazingly fast guitar notes. Ever thought about Joe Satriani sitting next to you and singing riff after riff so that you could follow him? Hard to imagine but now this is almost possible. Even if the great guitar player will probably not be able to sing for you in particular you can now slow down music and learn note after note in order to be able to follow some of the world’s greatest guitar hits such as Purple Haze, Metallica’s “Fade to black”, A whole lotta love and Sweet Child of Mine.

The ability to slow down music and obtain the results mentioned above is now possible with your very own computer and of course some of the major songs mentioned above or practically any other complex guitar based song, according to which one you would like to study in more detail. Having this said it is clear that you can be a better guitarist from the first day of using Riff Master Pro, the Windows Vista compatible slow down music utility created by guitarists for guitarists. By considering this feature rich application you will be able to master guitar solos faster and at a much higher pace because of the instant functions which allow you to slow down music without damaging the song’s quality and without having to change the pitch, a very important aspect when applying such a process.

The magic of playing by ear is of course possible to just about anyone because of the extreme benefits brought to every PC user by quality software designed to fit exactly the most common guitar student’s requirements. While being a great utility for guitar students, Riff Master Pro has been since long time used even by some of the most veteran guitarists for testing purposes, all credentials being excellent, according to this product’s testimonials. Not only that we managed to learn to play the guitar faster, better, more but we are also now able to train our speed and ear at both beginner and advanced levels.

The benefits of a good slow down music product such as Riff Master Pro are crystal clear to both guitar players and listeners as differences in style and accuracy of musical performance have been observed in most cases.

Recover Deleted Email Messages in Vista Windows Mail

Outlook Express was, and by the time of this writing still is, the most popular email client by a huge margin. It's hard to overestimate the amount of support Outlook Express has received from third party developers. Multiple free and commercial products compete for your disk space and a place in your Start menu, including tools that backup and restore email messages, and that fix and recover corrupted mail database. Outlook Express users certainly have no lack of email recovery tools that help to recover accidentally deleted email messages.

The situation has changed momentarily. With the release of Windows Vista, Outlook Express has been superseded with a new-generation email client, Windows Mail. Windows Mail stores email messages in a new format that is completely different from Outlook Express and incompatible with anything before it. Familiar mail recovery tools for Outlook Express no longer work with Windows Mail, and, as is typical, there is no method to un-delete email messages provided by Microsoft.

Recovery for Windows Mail http://www.nsware.com/Windows-Mail-Recovery.htm is one of the first products on the market to support the new Windows email client. It is designed specifically to un-delete email messages in Windows Vista.

Windows Vista offers increased security and strengthened protection against modern threats. New security measures typically prevent users and applications from accessing important files and modifying vital information. In order to overcome these restrictions, you would have to be logged in as an Administrator, or at least as a user with administrative rights. This may become a major inconvenience for a home user, and a total show-stopper in a corporate environment.

Recovery for Windows Mail is fully aware of the new account security measures implemented in Windows Vista, and does not require you to be logged in with an administrative password. Just run Recovery for Windows Mail, and it'll do the rest - automatically!

Windows Mail differs from Outlook Express in the way it stores email. Each message is stored in a separate file, complemented by meta-information that's stored in a mail database for faster indexing. Deleting email in Windows Mail simply moves messages into the "Deleted Items" folder without affecting the files. But if you remove a message from the "Deleted Items" folder, there is no easy way to un-delete that mail.

Recovery for Windows Mail protects your messages from accidental deletion. It can un-delete and fully recover deleted mail even if it has been erased from the "Deleted Items" folder.

Recovery for Windows Mail is fully capable of recovering deleted email in the Windows Mail client. Protect yourself and download your free evaluation version here: http://www.nsware.com/Windows-Mail-Recovery.htm

How To Avoid Spyware?

Spyware is a kind of software that monitors the different activities of a user, without his consent or knowledge. Spyware is a major threat and menace to your productivity as well as privacy. Many PC's are affected with spyware and it greatly hampers their performance.

Spyware can spy on your personal information, the software installed in your computer and the web pages that you visit. Sometimes spyware can even hack your username and password. Spyware is a big menace for computer users but can be controlled with the use of spyware removal techniques.

Spyware can be present in any form of harmless program or software. The spyware is capable of sending information to the creators of the software or program without your consent.

Imagine the amount of damage that can be caused to you due to this unauthorized leakage of your personal information. A resent consumer study has found that around 80% of PC's in the United States of America are infected with some kinds of spyware.

Another study has indicted that the IT managers rate spyware as the number one threat for networks.It is likely to happen that you yourself have infected your computer with spyware.

The free smileys and the cursor that you download from websites are most likely to contain spyware. Be very cautious about whatever you download from the online sites. Most free programs and downloads have spyware attached to them. It is highly unlikely that people read the contents of the different pop-ups appearing on their computer screens during downloads. Spyware distributors take into consideration this aspect and embed the spyware in such program.

Spyware puts your privacy at risk. Spyware has become a leading threat to personal computers and online privacy. Spyware interferes with normal functioning of your computer and send information about your online activities to spyware manufacturing companies.

Installation of spyware in our computer without your consent amounts to bad netiquette. It is netiquette to seek permission to use personal information of any kind for any purpose. Incorrect use of your personal information online can land you in trouble.

You can follow some common and simple steps to avoid spyware installation in your system. The basic rule for avoiding spyware is to practice safe surfing. Safe surfing ensures that you are not lured into doing anything, which you do not wish to do. Be very cautious while you are downloading any thing, as it is very difficult to tell what program contains sypware and what program does not. Many legitimate free download programs come with spyware embedded with them.

Install a good anti spyware software, such as XoftSpy, with advanced features in your computer. Do not forget to run your spyware protection every day. It is extremely important for you to read the license agreement terms and conditions very carefully, before you download anything. This can help you in preventing spyware installation in your computer. Spyware threat can greatly hamper your work and other activities.

How to succeed in the Offshore Software Development

India, China, and Russia are the three leading countries that currently control the offshore programming market.

Today the very promising competition of the offshore software development asks for the best of resources and innovative strategies with brilliant business intelligence. These companies into Off shoring try not to leave the smallest of the details which has been overlooked by other businesses to win client interest.

Huge cost savings, time optimization: there are several benefits but these opportunities and advantages in this nascent business are also accompanied by challenges. Though the software vendor has hi-tech professionals with the best of technical skills with delivering quality output, there are few challenges faced which cannot be overlooked. These challenges are communication gaps, non-clarity of the project status, improper estimation in terms of resources and budget therefore and of course cultural hindrances.

Cost cut without compromising on quality is the key objective for this business and to achieve this objective, there has to be a smooth coordination between offshore client and the software vendor. This should start with the best possible approach by both the parties the offshore client and the software vendor.

The most important aspect in the offshore software development other than the required technical skills is the smooth communication between the two parties. Seamless communication oils the project speed. The communication in writing, video conferences along with and apart the verbal ones is more constructive. This is accomplished by implementing the work-schedules that intersect the time-frames for both the countries. Generally the offshore vendor works in accordance with the client for the later convenience but it is better if you as an offshore vendor also have a local presence for the client. This is like an added privilege, since this strengthens the client’s confidence into the offshore vendor. This helps the client to approach the vendor easily.

Another very important factor is the Resource and Budget forecast for the project. The Technical and Business Analysts should take the following points into consideration:

1. The risks involved in the undertaking the project and its measurement.

2. Whether the rates quoted are in accordance with the requirements of the project.

3. The terms of payment/billing: whether it should be hourly, weekly, per month or on the project completion, etc.

4. Will the quality standards set by the vendor be able to meet in carrying out the project or quality would get compromised for quoting an attractive price.

5. Double-Check for the specifications of the Project sent by client. Check whether there are any milestones in the project which has dependency on the client end. Check whether there would be any re-works or change-requests from client side.

Once the project starts, both the offshore client and the software vendor should coordinate on regular basis on the project flow. The communication has to be transparent between the both.

The offshore vendor must see that the project flow is smooth and the status is well communicated to the offshore client time to time.

This gives client a kind of satisfaction and confidence in the vendor’s work. Also, the vendor should target to complete every deliverable in the project in 80% of time committed. A buffer time of 20% of the actually committed is always good to balance if any sudden problems faced.

Also, it is better to have a single point of contact at both the ends to have a smooth and proper communication throughout the project development. But at the same time, everyone associated in the project should be aware of the communication going on between the two parties.

If you as an offshore vendor feel that any milestone in the project that puts a dependency onto client is approaching, you should intimate that to client at least 3 working days before depending on the weight of that milestone.

Though how much the project team strives to put up an error-free product, some problems or unpredictable issues may turn up and thus slow-down the project process. But these should be handled and solved with mutual cooperation and proper coordination from both the software vendor and the offshore client to achieve the objective.

Hence forth, to bring success to any offshore software development projects, it is the joint effort from both the ends that ultimately works out. But the most important factors here would be transparent and clear communication, proper forecast on resources and budget and smooth coordination on deliverables.

From Walldorf to Wall Street: The history of SAP

A well known achronym, SAP stands for Systems, Applications, Products in Data Processing. The company was founded in Germany, in a town called Walldorf next to Heidelberg and was started in 1972 by five IBM engineers. It was a great business idea, put in the service of other businesses and providing them with highly specialized services without which nobody could survive in today’s busy and highly specialized environment. Most people have heard about one of our best known services, SAP security. So, when people want to come to work for our company, they say they will want to become a SAP consultant for SAP security. However, the activities of our company are so widespread nowadays that you can be a SAP consultant in practically any field. While we do offer very specialized services, we are very specialized in many types of activities that no one else on the market can provide better than we can. If you are looking to become a SAP consultant with us, you would better look further than working in SAP security.

Nowadays, we have more than 44,500 installations. We work in 120 countries and have about ten million users. Because our services are so varied, you have very many options when you join the SAP team: you can be an SAP consultant building up our services portfolio. You can be an SAP consultant offering active global support. Another option is to be an SAP consultant for education or financing. Many of our employees have the job of SAP consultant for process outsourcing or SAP consultant for tools, technologies and methodologies. Many of our most experienced people are employed as SAP consultant workers for ramp up, which means that they introduce new solutions for the market. There is also the posibility to become a SAP consultant for managed services and for custom development.

We have been in the business of providing high-tech solutions for more than 30 years now. We work in varied fields as defence, bancking, chemicals, mining, oil and gas, railways, roads, etc. Since we provide solutions for any type of business activity, if you are a SAP consultant you can end up working for that activity that is most interesting for you. You may start in a division that is of no particular interest to you and advance by becoming a SAP consultant in the field you are most passionate about. For example, you can start out as a SAP consultant for mail services and turn out to be a SAP consultant in the area of oil and gas.

Indeed, most people come to SAP to work for SAP security. That is what they hear about, that we provide security for business services we offer and they want to be in the field of SAP security. But then we tell them that SAP security can mean any number of things. When we provide solutions in the domain of finance, we provide SAP security for that. When we provide solutions for companies that work with fossil energy, we provide security for our services there. Any service we provide for our companies, we also provide SAP security along with it. So when you come to our company ready to work in the field of SAP security, you would be better off knowing much more than that about what you really want to end up doing.

Either way, what all this means is that there are many available jobs to work for SAP security. It’s just that you can be a provider of SAP security in any number of branches of our company. We do not want you to be shy. We think that anyone has a chance in our company, especially with a solid background in business or IT studies. If you are well trained, try to come and work for our company. We started small and ended up being the biggest business service provider. We are open to giving chances to beginners. We started in Walldorf and we are now on Wall Street. We want you to do the same, to use our company for growing personally.

All that we ask of you is to have some idea about the activities of our company before you approach us. Don’t count just on rumours. Don’t just come and say that you want to be a SAP consultant and you prefer SAP security. It takes a little more than that to actually end up working in SAP security. It takes a little bit of effort to understand some of the huge array of activities our company has and it takes some knowledge of what you want to do inside the company. That is all you need. We will help you grow from there.

Adobe Photoshop CS3: Top 5 Standout New Features

Upon first digging into Adobe Photoshop CS3, a few features have really popped out at me as incredibly useful. I would like to offer a brief overview of some of these new ways of attacking your creative challenges using the latest version of Adobe's flagship app. PsCS3 will run you about $649 to buy it outright if you do not own any previous versions. If you own Photoshop 7, CS, or CS2, you are eligible for upgrade pricing - looks like $199 for the upgrade. Check Adobe's store on their website for more info. For more information about what comes in the different versions of CS3, and what your suite configuration options are, see my previous post.

My current favorite five new PsCS3 features in order are:

1. Nondestructive Smart Filters

2. Quick Selection Tool & Refine Edge

3. Photomerge with advanced alignment and blending

4. Automatic layer alignment and blending

5. Vanishing Point with adjustable angle

Feature Overviews:

* Nondestructive Smart Filters

Adobe has finally given us non-linear, nondestructive filters. Can I just say "HOORAY!" In the past, you applied filters and effects in a linear order: one filter would alter your image, and the second filter would alter your now altered image, and a third filter would alter the altered altered image. The problem with that workflow is that if you decide you want to slightly tweak the second filter, you'd have to either undo back to that point (losing your subsequent edits), or use the history palette to step directly "back in time" to the point before you added the second filter, add your "revised" second filter and then add your third manually. All too often, you don't quite remember what exact parameters you had set on that third one - or worse, your real world project involved applying 20 filters instead of the 3 in my example and changing the second filter would mean redoing the 18 that follow it. What a drag. Because of this issue, people developed many work arounds (often involving saving off multiple "partially completed" versions of files all over your hard drive with iterative file names, hoping that if you needed to go back to a certain point in time you'd be able to figure out where you needed to be), and while these workarounds were clever and well-conceived in many cases, there was a perfect, real solution, waiting to happen.

The real solution to all this is what we have been given in CS3: Nondestructive Smart Filters. In this new version, each filter and effect that you apply to a layer, remains live and continually re-editable, in real time, and the parameters that you adjust will all cascade down through whatever subsequent filters or effects you might have added to your layer. These are savable, movable, copy and pastable, and most importantly scalable.

* Quick Selection tool & Refine Edge

A design mentor of mine once told me "Photoshop is all about the selection. You select something, and then you do something with the selection. Nothing more, nothing less. Remember that, and you'll never go wrong using this app." Almost 10 years later, I must say she was absolutely correct. Using Photoshop is all about "the selection." There are more tools in Photoshop for selecting than for any other single task.

As in just about every version of Photoshop that has ever been released, CS3 has made even greater strides in the area of "making your selection" than comes to memory in recent years. The new Quick Selection Tool used in combination with the Refine Edge palette is about the most helpful and clean way of selecting the edges of an object in your image that I have ever seen. This new revised Quick Selection tool is so smooth. You basically set the parameters of your Quick Selection tool - as if it were a brush - and paint the general area of your image edges (like trying to select just a kid and his soccer ball out of the photo of the big game) and Photoshop is watching what you do, and interpreting what you consider to be the general edges of what you are wanting to select and it figures out what's kid and ball and what's grass and goal posts and sky and crowd and selects just what you want it to. It's VERY fast and clean. Then, you can invoke the Refine Edge palette, and you have seemingly infinite control over exactly how the edges of that selection behave. Check out the palette to the right to get an idea of what you could do to "refine" that edge. With radius, feathering, smoothing, and various display settings, I believe this new combo will cut down on my masking and selecting time in a quantifiable way.

* Photomerge with advanced alignment and blending

Ever tried to stitch together a series of images that you took, that you intended to "put together" into a panorama? Even with some of the stand alone tools that have been available over the years—even those for doing quicktime VR's—are clunky and difficult to use - with mixed results at times. I have always wanted something built into Photoshop to let me do these "photo merges" - I never expected that Photoshop would actually be able to automatically do it for me. This feature floored me. The technologies involved in my number four choice "Automatic layer alignment and blending" are at work here in this feature as well, and the new auto layer alignment features in CS3 are far-reaching and crop up again and again in different areas of the application. It's really one of the revolutionary things about this new version.

All of the things that have made making panoramas a difficult task in the past are all done automatically. The primary among these being 1. those times when you have to actually distort, rotate, skew or transform one of your elements because the perspective is screwy, 2. those times when the sun or lighting or a window made the white balance, color space or over all wash of brightness and contrast different from one image to the next (especially when doing 360's) and of course 3. actually finding and aligning those overlapping areas of consecutive elements. Photoshop CS3 does these all for you and with surprisingly amazing results. It's not just about the typical "panorama" either... I saw a demo of someone standing "too close" to a building, and taking pictures zoomed all the way out, of the front door, windows and window-boxes, front brick walk way, tilting upward and taking a picture of the balcony and roof line of the second floor - in other words, many elements that were WAY out of whack in terms of perspective, lighting and color space, and these 4 or 5 images were distorted, tweaked, rotated, matched, blended, lighting and color density matched... and I was amazed in like 5 seconds, there was this "wide angle" almost "fisheye" photomerge of the front of the building, from brick walkway to roof-line, and it looked incredible.

* Automatic layer alignment and blending

Another powerful application of this new alignment and blending technology is with a series or stack of images of the same subject. Let's say you wanted to take a picture of a statue in a park somewhere, or a huge fountain, or the front of a monument or building. There are always people walking through the frame - if you can't close down the area and still need a picture of the statue, in the park, in it's beautiful setting, but with no people or birds or random elements - what are you to do? In the past, it was a painstaking process of shooting a bunch of images, selecting the "closest" one to your vision of a nice, clean, tourist-less frame, and begin the hours and hours of painting, cloning, healing, brushing etc., to remove all of your "randoms." There are artists who are very good at this process, but I'm fairly certain they would agree that if there was a way to not have to spend all that time, they'd take it. Well, it's here. Photoshop CS3 can take your stack of images and by analyzing all of them, figure out which things are permanent (things that appear in all the images like that building in the distance, the big tree, the sidewalk, and which parts of the image are obscured in one of the frames but not all of them, are healed automatically by borrowing pixels from other images in the stack and building an advanced composite of all the images and doing 90% or more of the work for you. There's even a set of "fuzziness" sliders letting you say "eleminate things that are in X% of the images in the stack or less." This is so impressive to see in action. You have to try it on some of your own images. It's really hard to believe that it's this easy to do this sort of process now. This is one of those new areas that I'm sure we'll see artists finding incredibly creative ways to utilize this feature. Again, this one floored me when I first saw it.

* Vanishing Point with adjustable angle

One of the most powerful new features of Adobe CS2 was the vanishing point feature. One limitation it had was that you only had one set of right angles to work with in the vanishing point interface. Adobe took it one exponential step further by adding multiple, adjustable angle perspective planes to this vanishing point feature. What this enables you to do is copy, paste and clone in far more complex image planes than just the "clone parts of a building in perspective" job that the first iteration of this feature offered (impressive and powerful, but not very flexible). One of the big examples Adobe is pushing with this feature is to simulate 3D packaging and work on multiple planes at various angles in the same image. Like an open box for a new product, or even for experimenting with your final package art by seeing it in its real-world context. Again I think this feature has so many far reaching implications for inventors, prototypers, 3D modelers, visual effects artists... and can give Photoshop artists the ability to render full blown mockups of product packaging art for clients in a whole new way - getting us to sign-off, green-light and on to the next project at hand much more quickly. I like that a lot.

There are numerous new features in the application, especially when you dig down deep into the Photoshop Extended editions (sounds like a Peter Jackson DVD...) and as the week progresses here, I'd like to look into some of what PsCS3 Extended has to offer. The versions of PsCS3 that are available are the Film & Video, Medical & Science, AEC (Architecture, Engineering & Construction), and Manufacturing editions.

PC Threats Everyone Is At Risk

Every single computer on the internet is at risk from PC threats which include viruses, Trojans spyware, adware, key loggers, the list goes on. Most people genuinely try by buying an anti-virus program or an anti-spyware package which will help but there are still many other problems that need to be addressed.

More and more people are using PC’s these days for internet banking, paying bills, online shopping, using programs to manage financial information, and much more. It’s great to be able to do all these things without stepping out the door, but what people are actually doing is storing some of their most valuable information on PC’s and if the proper precautions are not taken hackers can have a field day.

Hackers and virus writers are getting increasingly sophisticated every day. At the same time, people are storing more and more confidential information on their computers. A good hacker can enter an unguarded PC through your browser, download your, credit card numbers, social security numbers, your entire identity is there for them take and use at there discretion.

Most people realize that they should be taking some type of security measure, but they don't know where to begin. Before you ever risk all the data on your computer again, you need to know exactly where to begin locking your PC down or you are taking some serous risks.

I have been working in the IT industry for many years now and it has been a scary experience to see how PC threats have evolved. People need to seek good advice and put a system in place to protect their computers and themselves against the many PC threats.

I recommend people to use the Windows update feature, a trusted anti-virus package, a trusted anti-spyware package, and make sure they are set to auto update. These three things will certainly help guard against many of the nasty PC threats but other precautions still need to be taken to insure your PC protection.

I suggest people download and put to use the free information provided at www.yourpcprotection.com

Design Better PowerPoint

In my line of work, I find myself constantly producing PowerPoint presentations. Sometimes these are just individual slides (like a diagram or case study), sometimes they are templates, and sometimes they are whole, individual presentations. Most of my PowerPoint work is completed at my day job where I am an in-house designer, but my freelancing alter ego occasionally comes across a client needing some presentational pick-up. Over the years, I have built and edited hundreds of PowerPoint files.

I know a lot of people think PowerPoint is the devil incarnate, but in the corporate world, it is an ubiquitous evil. To shake some of the negative stereotypes, I apply traditional design principals to make my company and clients look better than the competition.

We go to 120 trade shows a year, and we present at every single one. We also use Macromedia's Breeze for hundreds of online demos. Our PowerPoint is often the first thing a potential customer will see from us, so it is critical (and easy) to make a good impression before they even receive a brochure.

PowerPoint is used by nearly sales guy on the planet, with a whole industry of accessories built around the presentation guru / road warrior concept. It is employed for downloadable or live web demos, and it is even used (or abused, depending on your point of view) to pass along copy, concepts and notes between internal team members. With this volume of use, PowerPoint slide design becomes just another facet of a company’s identity program.

From Chuck’s Neighborhood PeeCee Warehouse to Apple Computer, the local cafe with the amazing bagels to Starbucks Coffee, every business benefits from a unique identity, a look and feel that separates them from competition. The company logo is only a small part. Corporate colors, type treatments, illustration styles and repeated graphic elements are all parts of the greater whole. This identity is carried through to stationary, trade show graphics, packaging, advertising and yes, PowerPoint.

The software has become so ubiquitous that I consider it part of a greater paradigm shift in mainstream communication. The only problem is that this evolution is hindering communication. Like text messaging or 200-pixel banner ads, the information is compressed to a set of key buzzwords, crippling the message by stripping the skeleton of any meat. Bullet points become rapid-fire metadata. I give you the words "purple" and "fish" -- you figure out what I am trying to say.

* Leverage your existing technology
* Realize rapid ROI
* Streamlined implementation

Is about as meaningful as:

* Parsed cabbage flux capacitor
* Disco glitter manifestation
* Expressive giraffe BLT

Maybe a hundred years ago those phrases denoted something, but by sheer repetition and abuse, the PowerPoint generation has crushed the meaning like 200,000 people at a Stones concert trampling through a flower garden.

In the same way a good logo supports a successful identity program, good PowerPoint transcends half-assed bullet points and reinforces the speaker -- their personality, message and purpose. It doesn't recycle the same, tired messaging over and over. Not only does it look awesome, good PowerPoint hammers home the presenter's message with unique phrasing, interesting design elements and a certain disregard for the status quo bullshit buzz-speak.

All the flashy backgrounds, painstaking animations and intense clipart research are for nothing if the message has been gutted from the shell. So while I "design" PowerPoint, I design for the audience because I am focused on how they will react to the information.

Ready-Made Icons for Business and Financial Projects

There is no lack or readily available icons and images all over the Internet, but are you ready to deliver a project with inconsistent graphics to your business clientele such as banks, insurance companies and financial organizations?

No need looking for images to enhance your new project piece by piece when you can get the entire thing for less than a hundred dollars! Business Toolbar Icons by Perfect Icon ( http://www.perfecticon.com/ ) are readily available for viewing and ordering. The entire set of over two hundred icons goes for less than a hundred dollars, making the price of each icon just fifty cents. Why look elsewhere if you can find the professionally designed, carefully crafted and manually matched set right away?

Technically speaking, the Business Toolbar Icons set comes in all standard formats, resolutions and color depths. The set contains images in ICO, BMP, GIF and PNG formats, and every image is available in 256 colors and True Color. Needless to say that all sizes of 16x16, 20x20, 24x24, 32x32, and 48x48 pixels are supplied. If that's not enough, each icon comes in three states: normal, disabled and highlighted, which makes it several thousand of images in a single set!

Business Toolbar Icons represent the best value on the market with various financial objects, symbols and actions depicted by professional artists. There are many types of icons available, including money, currencies, trading, banking, insurance and other business and financial operations.

Currency Icons

Developing a project for the stock market or foreign currency exchange? Add symbols for major currencies to the navigation or toolbar of your application! Dollar, Yen, Pound and Euro are depicted in symbols, coins and paper bills.

Financial and Trading Symbols

Business Toolbar Icons depict numerous financial and business symbols such as Money, Insurance, Bank, ATM, Credit and Credit Cards, Growth and Recession to name a few.

Office and Workflow

Office workflow is an essential part for every business, and Business Toolbar Icons image numerous objects and actions to represent the issue. The set contains icons depicting Computer and Coffee Cup, Customers and Cash Register, Printer and Handshake, Accepting Delivery and Out Of Service signs.

It's impossible to list all two hundred names of icons in this text without making it awfully boring, but everything you need it right there. Trust my word - or see it with your own eyes by previewing all of these icons assembled on a single Web page at http://www.perfecticon.com/stock-icons/business-toolbar-icons.htm

10 Questions To Ask Yourself And Determine If You Are Spyware Savvy

Most of us who use computers are afraid of spyware and the problems it causes. So, you learn all about spyware and the ways to protect yourself from it. How will you know whether you have complete knowledge? Well what you can do is to surf the World Wide Web for the latest on spyware and computer security.

You can test your knowledge by taking self-tests and quizzes. Companies like Microsoft are very consumer friendly and make an effort to upload tons of information on computers and software for users in search of knowledge.

According to Microsoft you can test your knowledge by answering the following questions:

1. How will you prevent children from accidentally downloading spyware?

The answer must be: You can prevent children from downloading spyware by giving them a limited user account.

2. What are browser cookies?

Ans: These are created by unethical persons to track your browsing preferences for their own use, to spam your pc with advertisements and marketing ploys, to steal personal information like bank account details, credit card numbers and so on, and to cause harm to your computer and business by stealing data/files.

3. How can you use technology to protect your computer?

Ans: Many giants in computer technology are offering software and hardware to prevent spyware attacks. For example Windows Defender Beta 2 is one option.

4. What is Windows Defender?

Ans: It is an anti-spyware software that can detect spyware and warn you immediately, inform you of possible dangers and new spywares, remove spyware. It protects your PC against pop ups, slow functioning, security threats, and infections.

5. What are common signs that show your computer is infected?

Ans: Signs are unwarranted pop ups, strange PC behavior, change in homepage settings, appearance of new tool bars not installed by you, slowing down of computer, loss of files, crashing of computer, and so on.

6. What are the precautions to be taken?
Ans: Precautions are: install a fire wall, update all software, pay attention to security settings, use anti-spyware programs, use the internet safely.

7. Is a firewall useful?

Ans: Yes, it examines all information and acts as a filter anything even faintly suspicious will not be permitted, it will create a protective cloak and prevent undesirable sources from detecting your computer on the net.

8. How does spyware work and what protects your computer?

Ans: A spyware is a thief it can use information on you, steal files, and place undesirable material on your computer. The pc must be protected by use of firewall, anti-spyware hardware as well as software, and careful browsing as well as downloads.

9. Where can you get protection against spyware?

Ans: There are many choices a few are: Platinum Internet security 2005, Microsoft Beta 2, Webroot Spy Sweeper, Sunbelt Counter Spy, and Spybot.

10. Name three security measures?

Ans: One must not open e-mails with attachments from unknown sources; use a spam guard for all e-mail accounts, and avoid using messengers.


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