14 July 2008

How to build a Computer

Building a computer is not like trying to break the bank at an online casino or a casino in Las Vegas, it is very simple, once you know how.

To make a computer work you must have a mother board a processor some ram a CD ROM drive and a hard drive, with these key components you can build a computer than can easily be upgraded ever few years instead of having to get an entirely new PC.

The first step in building a computer is to find a nice sized clean workspace. The next thing you must do it to lay everything out on the table so that when it is needed it is close.

Before going any further open the box for the motherboard and remove the manual from the box. The manual will tell you everything you need to know about building the computer. Not reading the manual for the motherboard before starting to build your PC is like gambling in a casino at the craps table, without knowing the rules for craps, and you would not play a casino table game without knowing the Gambling Expressions or the rules for that game would you?

Take the computer case and open the side panel. This will open the space you will be building the computer in. before touching any of the actual computer components make sure you have attacked your anti static line to your workspace and your wrist, a shock from your hand to one of the computer components can damage them permanently.

With the computer case you will have a bag of screws. In this bag are some posts, place the mother board in the case just to see where the holes line up, and in each of the holes place a post screw. These posts are used as spacers so that the motherboard does not sit directly on the computer case.

After putting in the posts, the mother board can be placed on top of them and screwed into place. When screwing in the motherboard make sure to use the paper washers on each of the screws attaching the motherboard to the case.

Now you can carefully open the processor box and remove it, carefully line up the cutout in the processor with the one in the motherboard, and gently put the processor in place. Once the computers processor is on the motherboard, make sure to lock it, to stop it from moving.

Before you can put on the heat sink and fan you must put on a layer of thermal glue to the back of the processor, this glue makes sure the heat flows from the processor to the heat sink and fan. Without this glue the processor will over heat and burn out fast.

Most modern motherboards have a Nic card, video card and sound card as part of the mother board. This make is much easier to build the computer because that is 3 less things that have to be purchased or installed.

Now you can install the Ram. This is done by locating the cut out of the ram chip and lining it up with the slot for the ram on the mother board. If you are not sure where to install the ram make sure to check the motherboards manual it will show you exactly where to install the ram.

Now all that is left is the hard drive CD Rom drive and some wires connecting the computers on and off button to the motherboard.

The mother board will come with the cables you need to install your heard drive and your CD Rom drive. It is simple to do just plug one end of the cable into its place on the motherboard and the other end to the device you are attaching; it is as easy as playing Keno.

There will still be 4 or 5 wires that will need to be hooked up from the case to the motherboard. These wires are for the on and off button the reset button and the power lights on the computers case.

By reading the manual and following the directions you can build a computer in about an hour.

Computers: External Hard Drive Recovery

You can store your computer data in several different ways. Data can be stored on removable disks, hard drives, CDs, DVDs, and other types of media.

Even though there are several ways that you can store your data, at some point in time the electronic or mechanical device is bound to break down, resulting in a loss of data. Even though the device may work good for years, it can always break down when you least expect it, with no way to avoid it.

Hard drives are the most common way to store data, although they are mechanical devices and can break down or crash at any time. When they crash, you’ll normally lose all of your data, which can put you in quite a bind. To be on the safe side and keep yourself protected, you should always have a backup plan, such as an external hard drive.

An external hard drive is very handy to have around. You can store any type of file on it, including music and pictures. Most people use them for videos, as they can store a lot of videos. You can get them in many different sizes, going as high as 500 GB. If you have a lot of video on your computer that is taking up a lot of much needed space, you can easily transfer it to an external hard drive and free up some of your space.

On the data recovery side of things, external hard drives are a great solution. You can back up your entire hard drive on them, even a mirror image.

Most external drives are FireWire or USB compatible and will work with most computers. To use an external drive all you need to do is connect it to your computer. Then, using the software that came with the device, you can begin to transfer your data and files.

If you have a big hard drive, you’ll want to get a bigger external hard drive. If you are transferring your entire internal hard drive to the external drive, it may take you a few minutes. You can also add files and such along the way as well, if you get newer files to add. Backing up your entire hard drive to an external drive is a very smart idea, especially if your area gets a lot of electrical storms. Once you have backed up all of your data to an external hard drive, you can rest assured that your information will be there when you need it. External drives don’t crash, for the simple fact that they aren’t in use until you need them. The registry keeps growing when you use Windows. As it does, it attracts obsolete information and becomes cluttered. Get Free Registry Cleaner Scan here!

They will last you many years as well, which makes them great for pictures and other precious files. If you own a business, you may find them to the best way to store your business documents and other files that relate to your company.

All in all, external hard drives are the perfect way to create a back up of your data. Once you have your data backed up, you’ll be ready for anything that happens to your internal hard drive. In the event of a crash, you can use your external hard drive and transfer the data back to your hard drive, and be back up and running in no time at all.

External hard drives take all of the guess work out of the data recovery process - and may also save you the trouble of having to send your hard drive off to be repaired.Scan your registry for free at http://www.registry-cleaners-reviewed.info

Computer Security

What is Computer Security?

Computer Security is a branch of technology known as information security as applied to computers. Information security means protecting information and information systems from unauthorized access, use, disclosure, disruption, modification, or destruction. The objective of computer security varies and can include protection of information from theft or corruption, or the preservation of availability, as defined in the security policy.

Technological and managerial procedures applied to computer systems to ensure the availability, integrity and confidentiality of information managed by the computer system

Computer security imposes requirements on computers that are different from most system requirements because they often take the form of constraints on what computers are not supposed to do.

Typical approaches to improving computer security can include the following:
* Physically limit access to computers to only those who will not compromise security.
* Hardware mechanisms that impose rules on computer programs, thus avoiding depending on computer programs for computer security.
* Operating system mechanisms that impose rules on programs to avoid trusting computer programs.
* Programming strategies to make computer programs dependable and resist subversion.

Computer Security has three Layers:
* Hacking
* Cracking
* Phreaking

Hacking:
Unauthorized use or attempts to circumvent or bypass the security mechanisms of an information system or network.
Computer hacking always involves some degree of infringement on the privacy of others or damage to computer-based property such as files, web pages or software. The impact of computer hacking varies from simply being simply invasive and annoying to illegal.

Cracking:
The act of breaking into a computer system.
Software Cracking is the modification of software to remove protection methods: copy prevention, trial/demo version, serial number, hardware key, CD check or software annoyances like nag screens and adware.
The most common software crack is the modification of an application's binary to cause or prevent a specific key branch in the program's execution.

Phreaking:
The art and science of cracking the phone network.


Security by design:
The technologies of computer security are based on logic. There is no universal standard notion of what secure behavior is. "Security" is a concept that is unique to each situation. Security is extraneous to the function of a computer application, rather than ancillary to it, thus security necessarily imposes restrictions on the application's behavior.
There are several approaches to security in computing; sometimes a combination of approaches is valid:
1. Trust all the software to abide by a security policy but the software is not trustworthy (this is computer insecurity).
2. Trust all the software to abide by a security policy and the software is validated as trustworthy (by tedious branch and path analysis for example).
3. Trust no software but enforce a security policy with mechanisms that are not trustworthy (again this is computer insecurity).
4. Trust no software but enforce a security policy with trustworthy mechanisms.

12 tips for computer security:

1. Update / patch ALL your software every now and then!
2. Check / adjust ALL your settings so they are safe, since they ARENT by default!
3. Use firewall, like ZoneAlarm to control what goes in and out from your computer!
4. Use good passwords: at least 13marks long, containing both letters and numbers. Remember to change your password every few months atleast and dont ever use the same password in two places!
5. Get a good antivirus program: NOD32, F-Secure or Norton Antivirus and keep it updated!
6. Don�t open or execute files that you are not 100% sure are absolutely safe nomatter where or how you get them.
7. Wipe your historyfiles (like cookies, internet history and temporary files, etc.), logs and personal files, with specific wiping program (like Eraser) instead of just deleting them.
8. Use encryption to enhance your privacy! Use encrypted email (like Hushmail or Ziplip), www-surfing and encrypt sensitive files on your computer (PGP).
9. When you are finished using some internet-based service like email, sign out of it rather than just closing your browser! Also, when you leave your computer, make sure that none of such programs or connections are left open that someone could abuse. In WindowsNT/2k/XP, press Windowskey+L to lock the workstation.
10. Don�t use public computers for anything you need to type in your logins, they usually have Trojan horses that capture your passwords.
11. Make backups and store them in safe place! Easiest way to do a total-backup is to make an "Image" of your harddrive or partition and store it on safe location, but floppies will usually be just fine for storing documents, etc.
12. Install and Use a Hardware Firewall

www.perceptionsystem.com

PowerPoint Tips

Are you puzzled when using PowerPoint sometimes? In this article, I will list some small PowerPoint tips. Maybe they are all common, but practical ones. Hope these tips will make you convenient in your work and life.

1. How to Resize Pictures

You can size pictures in PowerPoint by clicking the picture with the mouse and dragging it to a new size. If you don't want to "stretch" the picture (keeping the horizontal aspect ratio the same) but enlarge it, hold the Crtl key when changing the size. You can also click the corner of the picture and enlarge it and the aspect ratio will remain the same.

2. How to Use Scanned Photos in PowerPoint

In Microsoft PowerPoint, you may want to add your own scanned photos into a slide to spice up your presentation. But very large pictures can slow down you slide show when they start to load. Even if a picture takes only a few seconds to load, it can throw off your entire presentation, as well as your timing. Recommend using smaller sized photos to help your slide show run exactly how it should.

3. How to Use Graphics with Text Efficiently

While working in Microsoft PowerPoint, you may decide to use text over graphics. This can either make or break your presentation, depending on how well you select your font and color. When working with text and a full color, it can be very difficult to pick the right color and font style. However, when working with a picture that only contains a few colors, text on top of it can spice up the slide�s appearance.

4. How to Record a Narration in PowerPoint

You can record a narration into a PowerPoint slide easily. Do this:
* Go to the Slide you wish to add a narration to.
* From the Insert menu select Movies and Sounds.
* Click Record Sounds.
* When ready, click the Record button (the red circle).
* When finished recording, click the black Stop button.
* Click OK.

5. How to Add a Background Sound to a PowerPoint Slide

To add a background sound to a PowerPoint slide, follow this:
* Open the Insert menu.
* Select Movies and Sounds.
* Click Play CD Audio Track.

6. When Using AVI files with Presentations

Using an AVI file with a presentation may spice it up, but it can also ruin it. Make sure to keep your AVI file normal size. A movie playing that is viewed too big will not have anywhere near the quality that a smaller viewed movie will.

7. How to Convert Your PowerPoint to DVD

You can use Windows Movie Maker, but you may not be able to keep the animations and sounds in your presentation. Another choice is to use a professional tool to help you do this easily. Here I recommend the Wondershare PPT2DVD. With a high conversion quality, you can do it easily.
More information you can go to http://www.ppt-to-dvd.com

Small PowerPoint tips but useful. Welcome to share more tips here!

What is Computer Software

Computer software is a general term used to describe a collection of computer programs, procedures and documentation that perform some tasks on a computer system.[1] The term includes application software such as word processors which perform productive tasks for users, system software such as operating systems, which interface with hardware to provide the necessary services for application software, and middleware which controls and co-ordinates distributed systems.

"Software" is sometimes used in a broader context to mean anything which is not hardware but which is used with hardware, such as film, tapes and records.[2]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software

Why “Free Software” is better than “Open Source”

While free software by any other name would give you the same freedom, it makes a big difference which name we use: different words convey different ideas.

In 1998, some of the people in the free software community began using the term “open source software” instead of “free software” to describe what they do. The term “open source” quickly became associated with a different approach, a different philosophy, different values, and even a different criterion for which licenses are acceptable. The Free Software movement and the Open Source movement are today separate movements with different views and goals, although we can and do work together on some practical projects.

The fundamental difference between the two movements is in their values, their ways of looking at the world. For the Open Source movement, the issue of whether software should be open source is a practical question, not an ethical one. As one person put it, “Open source is a development methodology; free software is a social movement.” For the Open Source movement, non-free software is a suboptimal solution. For the Free Software movement, non-free software is a social problem and free software is the solution.

http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/open-source-misses-the-point.html