I read an article "Create strong passwords" in Microsoft Online safety. That was an very useful Article about password security.



How to keep your Password Safe and secure ?
* Steps to build a strong password
* Learn what makes strong passwords
* Avoid common password strategies that fail

Steps to build a strong password:
The strong password consist of random string and numbers, which should be difficult to guess and remember by others.

1. Think of a sentence that you will remember
Example: “My son Aiden is three years old.”
2. Turn your sentence into a password
Use the first letter of each word of your memorable sentence to create a string, in this case: “msaityo”.
3. Add complexity to your password or pass phrase
Mix uppercase and lowercase letters and numbers. Introduce intentional misspellings.
For example, in the sentence above, you might substitute the number 3 for the word “three”, so a password might be “MsAi3yo”.
4. Substitute some special characters
Use symbols that look like letters, combine words, or replace letters with numbers to make the password complex.
Using these strategies, you might end up with the password “M$8ni3y0.”
5. Test your new password with Password Checker
6. Keep your password a secret
Treat your passwords with as much care as the information that they protect.

Password Strategies

To avoid weak, easy-to-guess passwords:

• Avoid sequences or repeated characters
  "12345678," "222222," "abcdefg," or adjacent letters on your keyboard do not make secure passwords.
  
• Avoid using only look-alike substitutions of numbers or symbols
  Criminals will not be fooled by common look-alike replacements, such as to replace an 'i' with a '1' or an 'a' with '@' as in "M1cr0$0ft" or "P@ssw0rd".
  These substitutions can be effective when combined with other measures, such as length, misspellings, or variations in case.
• Avoid your login name
  Don't use any part of your name, birthday, social security number, or similar information for your loved ones.
  This type of information is one of the first things criminals will try, and they can find it easily online from social networking sites, online resumes, and other public sources of data.
• Avoid dictionary words in any language
  Criminals use sophisticated tools that can rapidly guess passwords that are based on words in multiple dictionaries, including words spelled backwards, common misspellings, profanity, and substitutions.
• Avoid using only one password for all your accounts
  If your password is compromised on any one of the computers or online systems that use it, you should consider all of your other information protected by that password compromised as well.
  It is critical to use different passwords for different systems.
• Be careful with password recovery questions
  Many Web sites offer a "password " service that lets you provide the answer to a secret question. If you forget your password, the service will send it to you if you can remember the answer to your secret question.
  The questions are often random, but sometimes the answers to these questions are freely available on the Web. Choose your questions carefully or make up the answers.
• Avoid using online storage
  If criminals find your passwords stored online or on a networked computer, they have access to all your information.

MORE INFO:Microsoft Online safety

Passwords Sentinel is a fresh reliable solution developed for secure password storage, a personal assistant to organize that huge quantity of information you don’t like but so much need. It is light software whose purpose is to manage and keep safe passwords, access codes, important dates, figures, numbers, etc.

Forget all about memorizing huge amounts of data or hiding pieces of paper with personal information in places you have to remember! Stop worrying that someone might stumble upon your most important passwords! Let Password Sentinel manage your access codes – have one less concern!

Passwords Sentinel stores your passwords in a highly encrypted local database which consists of only one file, thus allowing easy transfer from one computer to another.

KEY FEATURES:

* Highly encrypted databases
* Freeware:which you have full access in terms of source code!
* Support of master passwords and key-disks
* Runs on all Windows operating systems and doesn't need to be installed
* Export password list to TXT, XML or CSV files
* Import from CSV, CodeWallet(Pro) TXT and Password Safe v2 TXT files
* Easy database transfer
* Support of password groups
* Time fields and entry attachment support
* Auto-type, global auto-type hot key combination and drag-n-drop support
* Intuitive and secure Windows clipboard handling
* Searching and sorting
* Multi-language support
* Strong random password generator
* Low memory requirement

http://www.passwordsentinel.com/downloads/

Most important way by which the virus spread through computer is when we use pendrive. (virus spread to computer during the autoplay). To disable this autoplay function for any device or for pendrive. Follow the below steps,

1. Go to start.
2. Select Run.
3. type gpedit.msc
4. select User Configuration.
5. then click Administrative Template.
6. then click System.
7. you will find Turn off Autoplay,select it.
8. Select Enable radiobutton and select All drives.
9. click apply and ok.

Now autoplay is disabled in your computer.So, no virus will affect as soon as you insert your pendrive. Now scan the pendrive using some virus scanner and then open. The chance of virus spread to computer decreases.

when we close an application not in an proper way due to some reason (or) when computer hang (or)  for someother reason error gets generated in computer. These errors will have to reported to microsoft, most of case we will not allow to send.To stop this error reporting system,Follow these steps:

1. go to mycomputer properties.
2. then click advanced.
3. then click on error reporting button.
4. now select disable error reporting radio button.
5. then select ok.

  

Now error will not be displayed in your computer.

IF your internet connection is slow because your service provider cant't provide much speed or you are in any rural area and you want to make your web browse faster then before,then it cannot be made to run as fast internet connection,but can be made to browse web for fast as of before for sure.Just follow some tips and make your connection fast then before.

1. Increase the size of your browser cache. If the static parts of a site (like background graphics, CSS, etc) are stored in the local cache, your browser can safely skip downloading these files when you re-visit the site in future thus improving speed.

2. Turn off web images, the Adobe Flash plug-in, Java Applets and JavaScript from your browser settings as these files are often the bulkiest elements of any web page.

3. The Google Transcoder service at google.com/gwt/n can split large web pages into smaller chunks that will download more quickly on your computer.

4. Monitor your Internet speed to determine hours when you get the maximum download speed from the ISP. Maybe you can then change your surfing schedule a bit and browse more during these "off peak" hours.

5. Finch can serve a light-weight version of any website in real-time that is free of all bells and whistles.

6. Flinch is good for reading regular websites but if you just need to check the latest articles published on your favorite blogs, use BareSite. This service will automatically detect the associated feed of a website and render content quickly inside a minimalist interface.

7. You can use a text browser like Lynx or Elinks for even faster browsing. It downloads only the HTML version of web pages thus reducing the overall bandwidth required to render websites.

8. When searching for web pages on Google, you can click the "Cache" link to view the text version of a web page stored in the Google Cache. Alternatively, install this GM script as it adds a "cached text only" link near every "Cached" link on Google Search pages.

9. Move your web activities offline as far as possible. You can send & receive emails, write blogs and even read feeds in an offline environment.

10. Applying the same logic, you may also consider using tools like Web In Mail or Email The Web as they help you browse websites via email. Just put the URL of a page (e.g., cnn.com) in the subject field of your email message and these services will send you the actual page in the reply.

11. Bookmarks are like shortcuts to your favorite web services.

12. Use the netstat command to determine processes, other than web browsers, that may be secretly connecting to Internet in the background. Some of these processes could be consuming precious bandwidth but you can block them using the Firewall.

13. Use URL Snooper to determine non-essential host names that a website is trying to connect while downloading a web page. You may block them in future via the Adblock Plus to filter out advertising banners on web pages.

14. If you don’t want to spoil your web surfing experience by stripping images and other graphic elements from a web page, get Opera Turbo. It will first fetch the requested web page on to its own server and then send it to your machine in a compressed format. Opera Turbo won’t change the layout of a web site but can lower the image resolution so that they load faster on slow Internet.

Most people these days understand what a virus is and how harmful it can be, but they are still somewhat unsure how computer viruses spread. The truth is that there are dozens of different ways in which a virus can spread from computer to computer, but let’s take a look at the most frequent ways in which people run into viruses, spyware and Trojans on the Internet.

1. Email attachments: Golden rule is that if you don’t know what an attachment is, don’t open it. You don’t have to take such drastic steps to protect yourself, however; simply use common sense when opening attachments in your email.

2. Rogue Websites:It is depressing to know that you may become infected with spyware or a virus by doing nothing more than simply visiting a website, but it is true. Many adult websites, gambling websites and other less than trustworthy websites will attempt to automatically access your computer when you visit them. They often install adware bugs that will cause a flurry of pop ups to appear on your screen.To stop these rogue websites, adjust the settings on your antivirus software and firewall so that no outside connections can be made and no programs can be installed without your express permission.

3. Networks: If your work computer is part of a larger network, you may find yourself with an infection through no fault of your own. Someone else on the network downloaded a bug by accident, and within minutes, the entire network could be infected. There isn’t much you can do to stop these kinds of infections, short of having your network administrator ensure that everyone’s antivirus software is up to date so that the invading bug can be removed as quickly as possible.

4. Phishing Schemes. Learning how computer viruses spread is important to keep yourself, and your personal information, safe online. Phishing schemes are one of the chief ways in which people end up with their identity stolen and a computer fill of viruses. A phishing scheme starts when you receive an email from a website claiming to be your bank or credit card company. You are asked to click a link and log in, but the truth is that you’ve just given away all of your personal information. Often times, when you visit these sites, spyware, adware and viruses are automatically installed on your computer. smartest thing you can do is to simply call your bank or credit card company if you receive an email saying there is a problem with your account instead of blindly following links in your email.

5. Infected Software. One of the great things about the Internet is how many free games and programs there are out there, but these free programs often come at a price. Too many rogue websites intentionally infect their freeware (like Kazaa) with trojan viruses so that you unknowingly infect your computer every time you download a free game or piece of software. The key here is to only download freeware or shareware from a trusted source like CNet that always ensures your safety.

6. Hackers. The Internet today is a much more law abiding place than it was ten years ago. Not only did most people not have antivirus protection and firewalls that could stop incoming attacks, most people didn’t even know what they were. Today, people understand the value of good online protection, but hackers can still pose a problem if you allow your protection software to lapse. The best way to beat hackers is to ensure that you have a firewall and up to date antivirus software.

7. Instant Messaging. It is difficult to find a computer in this day and age that doesn’t have at least one instant messaging service installed on it. Unfortunately, these programs are often targets of hackers who see an easy way to trick people into clicking links that lead them to rogue websites. Common sense can keep you out of trouble, however. Only chat with people you know and never follow links to sites that you don’t recognize. You should easily be able to keep Internet worms, viruses and other bugs at bay.

8. Fake Anti Virus Software. This is one of the most frustrating ways to become infected with a virus or worm. There are dozens of anti virus and anti spyware programs you can download for free on the Internet and a surprising number of them actually do exactly the opposite of what they claim. The product websites make outrageous claims that their product can protect you from a whole range of threats, when, in reality, their product will only make things a thousand times worse. Only download antivirus programs from trusted sites or from websites that you know are completely legit.

9 From Mobile Devices. Mobile phones get infected by bluetooth transfer,etc.. when u connect the mobile to computer you can be affected by those virus. keep one anti virus software for mobile. Keep your anti virus software up to date at all times and you should be able to wrestle control back from any Internet bug.

10. Friends and Relatives. The social networking site Facebook has had to battle this very problem when their serves get a bug and automatically send out emails to everyone on the system that are infected. Often times, these emails are extremely generic sounding and come with suspicious attachments, but people often open them anyway since they have come from a friend or from a site they trust, like Facebook. Remember, if you get an attachment with an .exe extension or a .dll, don’t ever open it.
Learning how computer viruses spread is the best way we can put an end to their reign of terror online. It is only with the right knowledge and the best antivirus software that Internet users everywhere can beat online bugs for good.

RECOMMENDED ANTI-VIRUS:

• Kapersky: www.kaspersky.com/

• BitDefender: www.bitdefender.com/

The windows registry is one of if not the most important component of your windows operating system(OS). Because of this it must be clean and free of errors for your PC to run smooth and error free.
In this article there are some best practices and guidelines to repairing the windows registry.

First thing you should know is that manually editing the registry is not for the average user, there are hundreds of thousands of entries in the windows registry and changing or deleting the wrong one can cause your PC to stop booting forever.

If you have manually edited the windows registry and now you cannot boot your PC only choice may be to re-install windows, if that does not work you may have to wipe your hard drive and start fresh, this can be a major pain trying to find all the drivers and support software for your system.

Assuming you have not manually edited your registry, the next thing you should know is that there are a ton of different registry repair software tittles available on the market.

To really get things done in windows requires a multi pronged approached. If I want to clean the adware or spyware off of my system You have to use three different programs, Adaware, Spybot S&D, and Spyware blaster. Run them one at a time and then follow their instructions.

Use this same rule for the Registry Three different programs that all do the same thing but in different ways. The reason this is necessary is because windows is so complex and so is the registry, one piece of software may not find things another will, If after running the third piece of registry repair software it does not find anymore problems with your registry you can feel pretty good that your Windows registry of clean and error free.


Run the 1st piece of registry repair software, when it finds errors, and it will, select the fix option, or repair option, do NOT choose Delete. This forces the software to try to find solutions to the problems in your registry. Most Registry repair software will do the best it can to fix the problems and any it cant fix it will delete. Some will try to fix and then come back to the user with results of the repair/fix attempt and ask what to do with the errors it could not fix. At this point you would select delete.

Now run the second piece of registry repair software and do the same thing as before.

Now run the third registry repair software tittle and do the same thing as before.
At this point your registry is good to go and things should boot faster and have less errors.

One last thing, some Registry repair software has an option to do deep cleaning or aggressive search, It is not recommend these options as they may damage the registry, and we are trying to repair the registry.

RECOMMENDED REGISTRY TOOLS:

• http://www.Registryeazyfix.com

• http://www.errorfixregtool.com

Looking to fix missing DLL files in windows? Look no further.

DLL stands for Dynamic Link Library. Although these files do not gather much attention from the average PC user due to their ‘backstage’ role, they are highly important when it comes to the functionality of almost all pieces of software on your PC.

They provide certain functions that are called upon by other executable files. Rather ironically, the introduction of DLL file technology was to help simplify software functionality and operation, but when problems in the DLL files arise, it can often have the opposite effect.

Missing DLL file errors can arise for 3 reasons:

• An essential DLL file has been deleted accidentally or during the uninstallation of a particular piece of software

• DLL files have become corrupt for one reason or another

• DLL files have become infected with a virus

If you are encountering a missing DLL file error, it is highly likely that it has been caused by one of the above reasons.

In order to rectify the problem, there are a number of possible solutions that you should try in turn.

1.Re-install the software that you previously removed just before you encountered the DLL file error. If the reason for your DLL file error occurring is because of accidental removal then this should replace the missing DLL file and allow the software in question to function properly once again.

2.Re-install the software that is actually generating the DLL error. Again, this should fix missing DLL files in XP home edition. If, that is, your DLL error is occurring due to accidental removal.

3.Update the program/device driver that you have recently installed. Often, old DLL files can overwrite the existing DLL files and cause problems. In order to rectify this issue, you must update your program or device driver via the manufacturer or developer’s website.

4.Run a registry scan and repair your Windows registry. If your DLL error is arising due to corrupt or virally infected DLL files, giving your registry a free registry scan can help to clarify the problem and allow you to repair the DLL files in question.

In order to get the most from your free registry scan and ensure that the corrupted or infected entries are not missed or overlooked by the registry cleaning software, you must use a tried and tested cleaner.

To allow yourself to fix missing DLL files in XP home edition, perform a no obligation, FREE registry error scan today by clicking the link below:
http://www.registry2aid.com/Free-Registry-Scan.html


RECOMMENDED SOFTWARE:

1. Registry Fix Pro 1.5 : http://www.softplatz.net/Downloads/Utilities/Other/Registry-Fix-Pro.html

2. RegistryFix clean, repair, fix windows 2.37 : http://www.softplatz.net/Downloads/Utilities/Other/RegistryFix-clean-repair-fix-windows.html