Custom Kernel Can Increase Performance and Better Battery Life

As I wrote yesterday you can breath new life in to a old device without spending a fortune on a new phone. In my post New Life for Older Devices I detailed my experience in rooting and flashing a custom mod. This has turned my older, outdated phone into a powerhouse device with new features and settings that were unavailable using the stock Rom.

Many cellphone users are plagued with the same common issue poor performance and short battery life. Even after tweaking each setting and making adjustments the battery life is still poor and at times hinders the performance of the device. For stock users some tweaks can only be made with a rooted device, and other need both a rooted device and a custom Kernel.

On the XDA site there are many custom kernels that in combination with Cyanogenmod can greatly enhance both battery life and performance. I use the AJK Kernel and Cyanogen 10.1.3 with stweaks, this makes setting and changing different profiles easy and as an added backup you can reset profiles within the recovery mod in case you get stuck in a boot loop or the results were less that positive. making for a safe return to default settings.

Since I am not an expert in flashing and installing roms, I leave that to you. I am providing the links for you to be able to conduct you own research and decide if this appeals to your need to update and reinvigorate your older device.

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Cyanogenmod- New life for older devices

I have been using the same cell phone for a number of years and was stuck using the stock rom which has not been updated in at lease a year. My Samsung Galaxy S2 I777 is running Gingerbread and Straight Talk has discounted OTA updates which renders this phone obsolete. One possible solution is to buy a new phone, some new state of the art smart phone, or flash a new rom ( which will void any warranty. ) I chose the latter.

After doing some intense reading and research at both the XDA Developer site and the Cyanogenmod Site I found the tutorial to both Root and flash a new mod for my i777 device. I don't recommend this approach unless one understands the process and the possible outcome of flashing/rooting your device. This will void your warranty and you will not be able to get support through your carrier. Rooting and flashing can also brick your device resulting in boot loops or rendering your device unbootable.

After reading and understanding the risks you can breath new life into your device and take advantage of features and apps that your device would otherwise not have access to. Rooting and flashing can also unlock access to setting that might have been disabled due to a particular carrier. For example my carrier has disabled both tethering and the ability to change, add, or modify APN settings. I was also limited to using the Gingerbread Android OS, after flashing Cyanogenmod I am running Jellybean 4.2.2 and in a few weeks time will be able to move up to 4.3 and eventually the new kitkat 4.4.

 With the wealth of developers, wide range of cell phones and tablets and the enormous amount of research material on rooting devices you can take an old phone and teach it new tricks so to speak. If you want to save money or are like many and stuck using an older phone this can be a worth wild way to have the latest and greatest features and apps without the cost of a new smarter often more expensive phone.

Here is a starting point if you wish to research if your device can be rooted and flashed and the tutorials in doing so. You can look here to see if your device or tablet is supported. Device Support List

1) XDA Develpoers
2) Cyanogenmod

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Improved Preformance and Privacy in Firefox 21.0

Improved Preformance and Privacy in Firefox 21.0

 Mozilla has released Firefox 21.0 Final, a major new version of its cross-platform, open-source web browser for Windows, Mac and Linux. Version 21 gives users more control over their tracking cookie preferences, extends the social API to support four new providers and implements support for tools to help with troubleshooting and performance issues.

Also included in this release are improvements to its Do Not Track Feature, users now have three options via the Privacy tab of Firefox’s Options dialog. The default "user says nothing" and "user says don’t track" have now been joined by a "Tell sites that I want to be tracked" option for those who wish to allow tracking in order to see more personally relevant advertising.

Mozilla has also improved Firefox's Social API to support new providers. Users now have the option to add Asian social providers Mixi and Weibo, plus news aggregators msnNOW and Cliqz. Once installed, users switch between providers by clicking the main button and selecting the chosen provider from the list.

 Lastly is this author's personal favorite the new Firefox Health Report. A tool that provides information designed to improve browser performance while also sharing data with Mozilla, This can be disabled for those that do not wish to share data with Mozilla, Options dialog -- select Advanced > Data Choices tab to do so. Firefox will also monitor start-up times and alert users via the status bar of slow start times and offer a link to a web site which will offer advise on how to improve start up speed.

Version 21.0 update also comes with the promise of improved graphics performance, the implementation of Remote Profiling for developers and the removal of support for certain depreciated History APIs as part of Firefox’s drive towards asynchronous History and Bookmarks.

Download FireFox 21.0

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nVIDIA GeForce Drivers for Windows 320.14 Beta

nVIDIA GeForce Drivers for Windows 320.14 Beta

Recommended driver for Nvidia cards. It is Microsoft WHQL-certified and will also be available for download via Windows Update.

 nVIDIA GeForce Drivers for Windows 320.14 Beta

Latest Changes

• - Performance Boost – Increases performance by up to 20% for GeForce 400/500/600 series GPUs in several PC games vs. GeForce 314.22 WHQL-certified drivers. Results will vary depending on your GPU and system configuration. Here is one example of measured ga
• - GeForce GTX 660: ?Up to 20% in Dirt: Showdown
• - Up to 18% in Tomb Raider
• - Up to 10% in Metro: Last Light
• - Up to 8% in StarCraft II
• - Up to 6% in Sniper Elite V2

Download nVidia Drivers

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Homedale:WLAN Monitor WIFI access Points

Homedale::WLAN Monitor

Homedale lets you search for Wi-Fi / WLAN Access Points and monitor their signal strength. See an overview of all available access points with their signal strength, encryption [WEP/WPA/WPA2], speed and channel. You can also monitor the signal strength of selected access points in a graph over the time. With a right mouse click, you can start logging to a text file and create a screenshot. Make a right mouse click to connect and disconnect from a WLAN access point.

Signal Strength

You can also monitor the signal strength of selected access points in a graph over the time. With a right mouse click, you can start logging to a text file and create a screenshot.

 

Connect

Make a right mouse click to connect and disconnect from a WLAN access point. The blue icon shows the currently connected access point.

 

Download Homedale.zip

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Monitor and Log TCP Connections With TcpLogView

Monitor and Log TCP Connections With TcpLogView

TcpLogView is a free connection monitoring software for Windows. You can use TcpLogView to monitor and log TCP connections. When a process on your system creates a connection, both the process name and the location where it has connected will be logged.


TcpLogView is portable, you can use it from a USB flash drive for example. Without any active TCP connections on startup, the list that you see will be empty. As soon as you start an application that establishes an online connection, you should see new events being logged inside TcpLogView.

System Requirements & Limitations

• This utility works on any version of Windows, starting from Windows 2000 and up to Windows 8. On 64-bit systems, you should use the x64 build of TcpLogView.
• This utility creates the TCP log by taking a snapshot of currently open TCP connections, and comparing it to the previous snapshot. This means that if a TCP connection is opened for a very short time, then TcpLogView will not be able to capture it.
• On Windows Vista/7/8 with UAC turned on, you should run TcpLogView as administrator if you want to get full process information. 

Download links:

Download TcpLogView

Download TcpLogView for 64-bit systems

 

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Microsoft Security Bulletin Advance Notification for May 2013

Microsoft Security Bulletin Advance Notification for May 2013

Microsoft Security Bulletin Advance Notification for May 2013 Issued: May 9, 2013

This is an advance notification of security bulletins that Microsoft is intending to release on May 14, 2013. The full version of the Microsoft Security Bulletin Advance Notification for May 2013 can be found at http://technet.microsoft.com/security/bulletin/ms13-may.

This bulletin advance notification will be replaced with the May bulletin summary on May 14, 2013. For more information about the bulletin advance notification service, see http://technet.microsoft.com/security/bulletin/advance.

To receive automatic notifications whenever Microsoft Security Bulletins are issued, subscribe to Microsoft Technical Security Notifications on http://technet.microsoft.com/security/dd252948.

Microsoft will host a webcast to address customer questions on these bulletins on May 15, 2013, at 11:00 AM Pacific Time (US & Canada). Register for the Security Bulletin Webcast at http://technet.microsoft.com/security/bulletin.

Microsoft plans to release 10 security patches May 15th 2013;

2 Rated Critical (Internet Explorer)
8 Rated Important. (2x Windows, 3x Office, 1x lync, 1x .net, and 1x MSSE)

As with all updates make sure to set a restore point and back up all data prior to downloading and installing these updates to prevent loss of data.

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PerfView Performance-Analysis Tool For isolating CPU and Memory-Related Performance Issues

PerfView Performance-Analysis Tool For isolating CPU and memory-related performance issues

PerfView is a performance analysis tool focusing on ETW information (ETL files) as well as CLR memory information (heap dumps). It can collect and view ETL files as well as XPERF CSV files. Powerful grouping operators allow you to understand performance profiles in ways other tools can't. PerfView is used internally at Microsoft by a number of teams and is the primary performance investigation tool on the .NET Runtime team. Features include:

• Non-invasive collection - suitable for use in live, production environments
• Xcopy deployment - copy and run
• Memory
• Support for very large heaps (gigabytes)
• Snapshot diffing
• Dump files (.dmp)
• CPU Performance
• Support for managed, native, and mixed code
• Can read XPerf logs
• Profile diffing

Updates in the 1.4.1.0 version include:

• Added more /StopOn* options for stopping the circular buffer when paritcular events happen.
• Support for events logged with WPP Software Tracing (place TMF files in an TMF directory)

Download PerfView

 

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Microsoft Puts A bandaid On IE8, Users Are Still Advised to Upgrade to IE10

Microsoft Puts A bandaid On IE8, Users Are Still Advised to Upgrade to IE10

Microsoft has issued an advisory, and  "Fix it" for Internet Explorer 8. However it's  more a temporary stop-gap than a real resolution for the flaw. Microsoft stresses that "CVE-2013-1347 MSHTML Shim Workaround" is "not intended to be a replacement for any security update". This Fix It can also be disabled if for some reason you have an issue with it.

The vulnerability is a remote code execution vulnerability. The vulnerability exists in the way that Internet Explorer accesses an object in memory that has been deleted or has not been properly allocated. The vulnerability may corrupt memory in a way that could allow an attacker to execute arbitrary code in the context of the current user within Internet Explorer. An attacker could host a specially crafted website that is designed to exploit this vulnerability through Internet Explorer and then convince a user to view the website.

The vulnerability does not affect Internet Explorer 6, Internet Explorer 7, Internet Explorer 9, and Internet Explorer 10.

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Change Your Password Lately? You Should

Change Your Password Lately? You Should

I get calls, support tickets, and family telling my that "My computer has been hacked, or my Facebook has be broken into. This is more common that one would think and my question is alway;

Have you changed your password lately?

As long as there have been computers there have been passwords to login to them. Many people including persons in IT use common non-complex passwords often using 123456, password, or the street for which they live.

Intel's blog notes that length is more important than complexity when choosing a password: "The password 'Br3ak1ead&7' would take a computer three days to crack, at 1,000 guesses per second. Meanwhile, the seemingly simple 'thunder showers before sunset' password, would take the same computer, guessing at the same rate, 550 years to crack."  Using strong passwords is highly recommended, password that contain uppercase letters, punctuation and numbers are a good start but as noted above length is often better than complexity.

I always suggest that the person write out a long sentence using a familiar verse, quote or line in a movie, then take the first letter from each word and substitute uppercase, numbers, and punctuation.

Example: I grew up in Novato, California and went to high school at Live Oak.

password would be:  IguiNCawthsalo.

You could take it a step further and sub a few letters for numbers as such,

new password:  Igu1NCawth5alo.

In this example I subbed the lowercase i for a 1, and the letter s for a 5. As you can see this is a very complex password however as noted in the Intel article a better solution would be a longer ramdom password. Both methods have their strong points as well as weaknesses you can check your examples here using Intel password checking tool

My example password Igu1NCawth5alo. when tested using the Intel tool gives the following results;
CONGRATULATIONS, It would take about 6858401 years to crack your password.

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Rid Your Inbox of Unwanted Subscriptions: Unroll.Me

Rid Your Inbox of Unwanted Subscriptions: Unroll.Me

If you are like many your receive tons of subscriptions you don't want, and even some you do. This can become a hassle and clutter your inbox with tons of unwanted subscriptions and spam. It is very time consuming to open each email, select unsubscribe and with most have to wait 1-3 days for the action to fully unsubscribe your from their mailing list.

In comes Unroll.Me, a very easy, quick solution that takes the hassle out of opting out and is currently only compatible with Gmail including Google Apps for Business. Goto Unroll.Me and login. Once you login you are presented with the option to scan your inbox, this process can take a few minutes.

When the scan is complete you are given two options to unsubscribe, or rollup. If you selecte unsubscribe Unroll.Me will take of it. If you select Rollup, the subscription will be added to your daily rollup and delivered to you once a day. Users can choose when and how to receive the bulk emails, in the morning, afternoon or evening and in grid or list view, as well as manage the rollup and re-subscribe in case of a change of heart.

That is all it takes, now your once cluttered inbox is now a pleasant place to visit.

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Bring Back Messenger and Rid Yourself of Skype

A few weeks back Microsoft merged Messenger and Skype in to a single package and flipped the switch on Messenger forcing users to use the new client. A fan of the old Messenger and not wanting to use Skype I found a way to install Messenger without having to use the merged client.

Messenger Reviver 2 automatically installs, repairs and/or modifies Windows Live Messenger 2012, 2011, 2009, and 2008 (as well as Windows Messenger) so you can continue using and signing in to the old service.

You can download Messenger Reviver 2 here and there is also a zipped version you may download here if your anti-virus or other security tools is blocking your download.

Messenger Reviver 2: Install Messenger without Skype

Once you download and install the program double click the program to start, and it will detect all installed versions of Messenger and give you the option to revive them. You can then sign in and use Messenger as if Skype never happened.

This is a great alternative for those that do not like to be force feed a newer version that includes Skype. Although not a long time fix as rumors go Messenger is set to be discontinued in 2014 at some point, but for those that like the original messenger it will suffice for now.

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Microsoft Confirms Windows Blue in Latter 2013

Microsoft has confirmed the successor to Windows 8, Windows Blue 8.1 will roll out later this year, Julie Larson-Green, Windows co-chief, took to the podium at the Wired Business Conference today to confirm that a developer preview of Windows 8.1—a.k.a. Windows Blue—will be made available during the company's BUILD conference in June.

Windows 8.1 AKA Windows Blue Developer Preview June 2013

There is speculation that Microsoft will bring back the Start Button, although will not have the same functions that Windows 7 has. Also noted in the rumor mill is talks that they may allow Windows 8.1 users to boot directly to the Desktop, however this will be disabled by default and thus far not confirmed.

With the news of a preview in later June and a possible relase date scheduled for the end of the year one would have to think that an RTM would be available to OEMS 4-6 weeks prior for testing before signing off on the final image. Which would made a late October 2013 release to the public just in time for the holiday consumer rush.

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Have A Windows Phone? Here are Some Diagnostic Codes

If you like most want to change settings on your Windows Phone, here is a list of  diagnostic codes that you might want to check out.

Windows Phone Diagnostic Codes

As with all diagnostic codes, and hacks please remember to backup all your data in case you experience an adverse actions while using the below diagnostic codes. TechBetaPlus takes no responsibility for damage caused by the use of these codes and the end user is using at their own risk.

The list,

*#0*# - LCD Test - flashes through different colours
*#0002*28345# - Audio control utility
*#0011# - Power and Temprature settings
*#0228# - Bat
*#0289# - Melody Test\Test External and Internal Speaker
*#03# - SMDInfo
*#05# - Simple test menu
*#06# - Show IMEI number
*#0673# - MP3 Test Menu\Shows Audio sound tests
*#0782# - Shows Clock & Alarms settings
*#0842# - Vibrate test menu
*#0987# - Multitouch test
*#1111# - Show FTA software version
*#1234# - Shows the PDA and the Phone version number
*#197328640# - The Root Menu
*#2*# - Battery Information
*#2222# - Show FTA hardware version
*#2263# - RAT Selection option is resricted
*#232331# - BT RF Test Mode
*#232332# - BT Audio
*#232333# - BT Search Test
*#232337# - Bluetooth MAC Adress
*#232338# - WLAN MAC address
*#232339# - WLAN Test mode
*#2580# - Integrity Control
*#3*# - Test Brightness
*#32489# - (GSM test) Shows the ciphering status and options to enable or disable it.
*#7284# - USB Path control (TETHERED CALL)
*#745# - Operation (2): Ril log done
*#7450# - Operation (99):Error Report off done
*#7451# - Operation (99):Error Report off done
*#7465625# -Shows status of the Network, Service Provider, SIM or Corporation lock
*#770# - Operation (99):Vphone 770 done!
*#771# - Operation (99):Vphone 771 done!
*#772# - Operation (99):Vphone 772 done!
*#773# - Operation (99):Vphone 773 done!
*#774# - Operation (99):Vphone 774 done!
*#775# - Operation (99):Vphone 775 done!
*#776# - Operation (99):Vphone 776 done!
*#777# - Operation (99):Vphone 777 done!
*#778# - Operation (99):Vphone 778 done!
*#779# - Operation (99):Vphone 779 done!
*#780# - Operation (99):SR Test done!
*#9090# - Diag Config\UART/USB settings
*2767*3855# - Full Reset (all data will be deleted! Be careful)

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Fix Microsoft Security Essentials Won't Install Errors in Windows 7

I recently found myself having problems installing Microsoft Security Essentials on a friends PC. After several attempts to uninstall and install it getting the same error I stepped back and had to take a break.

Fix Microsoft Security Essentials Installation Erros

I ended up using Google to search for a solution. After several hours trying the MS fixes, deleting registry entries and re-booting I was stuck at the same error, that is until a friend gave me a small batch file that would remove all MSSE entries in the registry and files on the OS. Thew following is the batch file.

cd /d "%ProgramFiles%\Microsoft Security Client"

setup.exe /x

TASKKILL /f /im MsMpEng.exe

TASKKILL /f /im msseces.exe

net stop MsMpSvc

sc delete MsMpSvc

REG DELETE "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\services\MsMpSvc" /f

REG DELETE "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Microsoft Antimalware" /f

REG DELETE "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Microsoft Security Client" /f

REG DELETE "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Microsoft Antimalware" /f

REG DELETE "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\Run\MSC" /f

REG DELETE "HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Installer\Products\4C677A77F01DD614880F352F9DCD9D3B" /f

REG DELETE "HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Installer\Products\4D880477777087D409D44E533B815F2D" /f

REG DELETE "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\Microsoft Security Client" /f

REG DELETE "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\{774088D4-0777-4D78-904D-E435B318F5D2}" /f

REG DELETE "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\{77A776C4-D10F-416D-88F0-53F2D9DCD9B3}" /f

REG DELETE "HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Installer\UpgradeCodes\1F69ACF0D1CF2B7418F292F0E05EC20B" /f

REG DELETE "HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Installer\UpgradeCodes\11BB99F8B7FD53D4398442FBBAEF050F" /f

REG DELETE "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Installer\UserData\S-1-5-18\Products\4C677A77F01DD614880F352F9DCD9D3B" /f

REG DELETE "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Installer\UserData\S-1-5-18\Products\4D880477777087D409D44E533B815F2D" /f

REG DELETE "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Installer\UpgradeCodes\11BB99F8B7FD53D4398442FBBAEF050F" /f

REG DELETE "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Installer\UpgradeCodes\1F69ACF0D1CF2B7418F292F0E05EC20B" /f

takeown /f "%ProgramData%\Microsoft\Microsoft Antimalware" /a /r

takeown /f "%ProgramData%\Microsoft\Microsoft Security Client" /a /r

takeown /f "%ProgramFiles%\Microsoft Security Client" /a /r

REM Delete the MSE folders.

rmdir /s /q "%ProgramData%\Microsoft\Microsoft Antimalware"

rmdir /s /q "%ProgramData%\Microsoft\Microsoft Security Client"

rmdir /s /q "%ProgramFiles%\Microsoft Security Client"

REM Stop the WMI and its dependency services

sc stop sharedaccess

sc stop mpssvc

sc stop wscsvc

sc stop iphlpsvc

sc stop winmgmt

REM Delete the Repository folder.

rmdir /s /q "C:\Windows\System32\wbem\Repository"

sc stop

EXIT

Simply select and copy this to a blank notepad and save with the extention of .bat. Run as Administrator and let the script finish. Once completed re-boot and attempt to install MSSE again if all went well you should not get any errors.

I found this batch file helpful and wanted to share it with my readers. However I take no responsibility if problem arise utilizing this file. Use at own risk, Remember to backup and set a restore point prior to using this batch file for added protection.

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Winpatrol 2013 A Must Have Windows Tool

When troubleshooting a Windows system I often use Google to investigate error codes, to find out what start up items are and if they are safe, or find solutions to common problems. This method works but I find myself spending too much time when there is a faster solution, Winpatrol.

WinPatrol allows you to get a better understanding of what programs are being added to your computer. It monitors important system areas that are commonly altered by many malicious programs. This includes the startup groups (registry and startup folder), cookies and active tasks. You can terminate processes and enable or disable startup programs. The cookie monitoring option allows you to automatically delete cookies based on a keyword found in the cookie name. Additional features include a WHOIS lookup tool and an option to alert you on changes.

The latest version is WinPatrol vv28.1.2013, and you can download it here

Recent changes:

Allows WinPatrol to start for current user or all users.Reduced monitoring during all sleep states to save battery usage.
Allows WinPatrol to start for current user or all users.
Reduced monitoring during all sleep states to save battery usage.
Fixed Reset function to remove duplicate Scotty icons.
Fixed Reset function to remove duplicate Uninstall entries.
Speeds up real-time detection.
Fixed bug in system tray icon behavior that could have produce unknown results.
Improved handling of repeating changes made by partner programs.
Fixed "Automatically Run WinPatrol..." option so it doesn't always launch on boot

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Remove Those Annoying Ads with Firefox and Adblock Plus Addon

I get asked by clients all the time if there is away to block ads while surfing the internet. My response is always, Yes, however ads are how bloggers make a living. Now I agree that some websites, and some mainstream media outlets use too many, and ads that are overly annoying.

I don't block ads because I use Google Adsense to generate revenue for this blog. For this reason and this reason only. I have a small lab with several assistants that test software and solutions for clients. These tests, reviews and results are used to help clients get the best enjoyment when using the internet.

So with all that said I do have a solution that can benefit those that wish to block ads with a hands off approach. Since most clients use Mozilla Firefox, they only need to download and install the popular addon Adblock Plus and subscribe to a few subscription block lists.

If you are not using Firefox, download it and install it via the normal way. once installed head over to the Adblock Plus addon page at Mozilla and select add  to Firefox. No restart required. Once installed you will find yourself being asked to install a block list. Its a random selection when installing Adblock whether you are giving the popular Easylist, or the Fanboy list.

There is an known block list page here. You will find the most updated subscription list with many choices. I recommend the following as a good starting place.

1. Fanboy's Tracking List
2. Fanboy's list
3. Fanboy's Annoyances
4. Peter Lowe's List

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Homegroup and Advanced Sharing Options Configuration in Windows 7

Author: Techie Time

Homegroup Section

This section covers how to create and configure a homegroup as well as how to choose the resources that will be shared within the homegroup. To create a new homegroup, navigate to the "Control Panel" then select "Choose homegroup and sharing options" under the "Network and Internet" section.



At the homegroup screen select "Create A Homegroup" to configure your new homegroup.



On the screen, select what you would like to share with the members of your homegroup. The homegroup wizard will then proceed to create your new homegroup and will provide a randomly generated password. The provided password will be used to add other computers to your homegroup. Click on "Finish" and you will now see the current configuration settings for your new homegroup as seen below.

Advanced Sharing Settings

The homegroup options screen in Windows contains an advanced options section for sharing with homegroup users and computers. A screenshot of the homegroup options screen can be seen in the image above. Advanced sharing provides the option to configure network discovery, turn file and printer sharing on and off. turn public folder sharing on or off, set the encryption level for file sharing connections for your network, enable or disable password protected sharing and whether homegroups are managed by Windows or whether user accounts and passwords will be required to access network computers. Windows contains three types of sharing settings. These options are home, work and public. The advanced sharing options are displayed in the images below.




Network Discovery
When network discovery is enabled on a computer, the computer and shared devices can be seen by other computers on the network. Enabling this setting also allows the computer to view and access other computers and shared devices. The network discovery option requires that the DNS Client, Function Discovery Resource Publication, SSDP Discovery, and UPnP Device services must be started on each computer if network discovery is enabled. When these services are enabled, network discovery is able to communicate with Windows firewall and other network hardware or software firewalls.
File and Printer Sharing
When file and printer sharing is enabled, all shared folders and printers are accessible by users on other computers on the network. Shared folders and printers will also be displayed when accessing a computer by UNC path. For example, "\\mypc\shared" is an example of the path to a shared folder.
Public Folder Sharing
Public sharing in Windows contains the same set of configuration settings as the home or work network sharing settings. It is configured independently. Public shared folders are available to any user on the same network. If public sharing for folders is to be turned off then users on other computers on the network cannot access these shared folders. Users which are logged in to the computer which is hosting these shared folders will still be able to access the folders.
File Sharing Connections
The file sharing connections section allows for configuration of what kind of encryption is supported for shared resources. There are two options here. The two options available are 128 bit encryption or the option to only support 40 or 56 bit encryption. Certain devices do not support 128 bit encryption. 128 bit encryption is used by default in Windows and is generally supported by most computers.
Password Protected Sharing
The password protected sharing option is used to restrict access to shared resources to users that do not have a local account on the host of the shared resources. If this option is enabled, accounts from other computers which are members of the workgroup or homegroup can be added to a local group or directly to the local accounts through "Computer Management" in Windows. Turning this feature off will allow users from any computer on the network to access shared resources.
Homegroup Connections
The homegroup connections settings allow for the configuration of whether Windows will manage the connections to shared resources on the network or whether these settings will be managed by dedicated users on the network. By default Windows will managed shared resources. Generally shared resources are managed by users when customized permissions to users and group are set for the shared resources. In this circumstance the setting for Windows to manage shared resources will need to be turned off.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/operating-systems-articles/homegroup-and-advanced-sharing-options-configuration-in-windows-7-6507102.html

About the Author
Techie Time IT Knowledge Base

About TechBetaPlus

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5 Things you can do to improve the security of your Home PC

Author: Brooke M. Perry

Improving the security of your PC has become one of the difficult things do especially when millions of threats like viruses and malware are lurking into the web. It has become very important today to ensure the PC security because we use our computers for doing a lot of things such as Internet banking, shopping, payment of utility bills, email, social networking and others. As computers play a very important role in our life today, it becomes more than important to ensure their security anyhow.

Below listed are the 5 ways using which you can improve the security of your home PC:

Always connect to a secure network

Do you know that when you connect your PC to the internet it also gets connected to millions of other PCs connected to the web at the same time? This allows hackers and virus authors to access your PC and do the harms which they intend. The information which you seek from the internet first comes to your modem then router and then your PC. Because the modem is not equipped with any security features, it becomes important for you to secure your router. Ensure to secure the router before you connect your PC to the internet. It improves the computer security by many times and minimizes the risk of infection.

Enable and configure a firewall 

Firewall is an important security component that protects your PC from phishing and scams. It is in fact a device which regulates the flow of information which flows between your PC and the web. It is more like a router in terms of features. All the modern operating systems offer firewall as a software. Apart from the firewall offered by the OS, home PCs also have built-in firewall. For this you should consult your service provider to know how to enable the firewall on your network.

Install effective antivirus and antispyware software

The third step towards improving the security of your home PC is to install effective antivirus and antispyware software on your computer. It is also important to keep the software up-to-date to avail complete security from even newer threats.
Modern antivirus and antispyware can detect viruses and malware on the basis of the pattern exhibited by these threats in the files or memory of your PC. These software work on the basis of virus signatures which is provided by software vendors to detect the malware. Vendors constantly update the signatures with the discovery of new malware on the daily basis. For impeccable security against online threats it is mandatory that your antivirus program uses the updated signatures for detecting malware.
It is important that you enable the feature so that the antivirus program detects malware on the basis of current signatures. There are many rogue software available on the internet so be careful and install the antivirus program either through a CD or the website of the vendor.

Secure your web browser 

Web browsers are an important gateway for online threats because of their inherent security vulnerabilities. You should know that the web browsers installed on your PC don't have the enough secure default settings most of the time. So the next step towards protecting your home PC is to secure your web browser. It becomes more important today because most of the security incidents are taking place because of the vulnerabilities existing in the web browser. From the next time when you start browsing the internet make sure that you have done the following to secure your browser.

• Disabled the mobile code such as Java, JavaScript, Flash, and ActiveX
• Disabled options to always set cookies
• Configured the browser to ask for your permission for setting a cookie.

Install software updates and enable automatic updates

Most of the software development companies release updates on regular intervals to patch security vulnerabilities, flaws and bugs and improve the program to detect even newer threats. Most of the users treat these updates unnecessary and ignore it. This is not a good practice and makes your PC vulnerable to virus attacks. Always install the updates and enable the automatic updates so that you never miss any security update.

Before the Conficker virus struck computers worldwide in 2008, Microsoft had released a security update. If users would have installed the update on their PCs, they would have mitigated the impact of this virus to a greater extent. So always treat software updates at high priority and never ever miss it.
Above discussed are the 5 ways though which you can improve the security of your home PC. Apart from these there are many other ways that help you improve the PC security. You can also opt for standard practices of internet browsing like not visiting any website which you don't know, not clicking on link or attachments coming from an unknown source etc.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/security-articles/5-things-you-can-do-to-improve-the-security-of-your-home-pc-6564878.html

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A Secondary Security Tool For IT Specialists

When trouble shooting computers I have a pen drive that I always keep handy that's filled with a range of application that help in fighting spam, spyware, and virus' I also have a subset of tools for disk cleanup and fragmentation, and registry cleaners. Often times over the years I have added tools and removed tools as they become outdated or a newer better tool become available.

I started using a new tool and although very good still has some features I would like to see and enhancements to the GUI I would like to see implemented. AdwCleaner is a small utility that scans and removes Adware, Toolbars, PUP (Potentially Unwanted Programs), Hijackers, and more. its light weight and would be a grate addition to a tech support tool belt.

Simply download and run, select search and once the scan is completed it displays a result windows with possible infections and gives the user an option to delete. Once AdwCleaner finished it asks to reboot to finalize the removal process. At this point save all open files and close all windows prior to clicking the restart button.

This tool can be a valued asset when used as a secondary solution to more industry known anti spyware software like Malwarebytes, Spybot S&D among others. About TechBetaPlus

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