Posts Tagged ‘Info’

Computer Acronyms

Posted: June 19, 2010 in System Basics, System Information
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ADSL – Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line

AGP – Accelerated Graphics Port

ALI – Acer Labs, Incorporated

ALU – Arithmetic Logic Unit

AMD – Advanced Micro Devices

APC – American Power Conversion

ASCII – American Standard Code for Information Interchange

ASIC – Application Specific Integrated Circuit

ASPI – Advanced SCSI Programming Interface

AT – Advanced Technology

ATI – ATI Technologies Inc.

ATX – Advanced Technology Extended

— B —

BFG – BFG Technologies

BIOS – Basic Input Output System

BNC – Barrel Nut Connector

— C —

CAS – Column Address Signal

CD – Compact Disk

CDR – Compact Disk Recorder

CDRW – Compact Disk Re-Writer

CD-ROM – Compact Disk – Read Only Memory

CFM – Cubic Feet per Minute (ft�/min)

CMOS – Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor

CPU – Central Processing Unit

CTX – CTX Technology Corporation (Commited to Excellence)

— D —

DDR – Double Data Rate

DDR-SDRAM – Double Data Rate – Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory

DFI – DFI Inc. (Design for Innovation)

DIMM – Dual Inline Memory Module

DRAM – Dynamic Random Access Memory

DPI – Dots Per Inch

DSL – See ASDL

DVD – Digital Versatile Disc

DVD-RAM – Digital Versatile Disk – Random Access Memory

— E —

ECC – Error Correction Code

ECS – Elitegroup Computer Systems

EDO – Extended Data Out

EEPROM – Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory

EPROM – Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory

EVGA – EVGA Corporation

— F —

FC-PGA – Flip Chip Pin Grid Array

FDC – Floppy Disk Controller

FDD – Floppy Disk Drive

FPS – Frame Per Second

FPU – Floating Point Unit

FSAA – Full Screen Anti-Aliasing

FS – For Sale

FSB – Front Side Bus

— G —

GB – Gigabytes

GBps – Gigabytes per second or Gigabits per second

GDI – Graphical Device Interface

GHz – GigaHertz

— H —

HDD – Hard Disk Drive

HIS – Hightech Information System Limited

HP – Hewlett-Packard Development Company

HSF – Heatsink-Fan

— I —

IBM – International Business Machines Corporation

IC – Integrated Circuit

IDE – Integrated Drive Electronics

IFS- Item for Sale

IRQ – Interrupt Request

ISA – Industry Standard Architecture

ISO – International Standards Organization

— J —

JBL – JBL (Jame B. Lansing) Speakers

JVC – JVC Company of America

– K —

Kbps – Kilobits Per Second

KBps – KiloBytes per second

— L —

LG – LG Electronics

LAN – Local Are Network

LCD – Liquid Crystal Display

LDT – Lightning Data Transport

LED – Light Emitting Diode

— M —

MAC – Media Access Control

MB � MotherBoard or Megabyte

MBps – Megabytes Per Second

Mbps – Megabits Per Second or Megabits Per Second

MHz – MegaHertz

MIPS – Million Instructions Per Second

MMX – Multi-Media Extensions

MSI – Micro Star International

— N —

NAS – Network Attached Storage

NAT – Network Address Translation

NEC – NEC Corporation

NIC – Network Interface Card

— O —

OC – Overclock (Over Clock)

OCZ – OCZ Technology

OEM – Original Equipment Manufacturer

— P —

PC – Personal Computer

PCB – Printed Circuit Board

PCI – Peripheral Component Interconnect

PDA – Personal Digital Assistant

PCMCIA – Peripheral Component Microchannel Interconnect Architecture

PGA – Professional Graphics Array

PLD – Programmable Logic Device

PM – Private Message / Private Messaging

PnP – Plug ‘n Play

PNY – PNY Technology

POST – Power On Self Test

PPPoA – Point-to-Point Protocol over ATM

PPPoE – Point-to-Point Protocol over Ethernet

PQI – PQI Corporation

PSU – Power Supply Unit

— R —

RAID – Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks

RAM – Random Access Memory

RAMDAC – Random Access Memory Digital Analog Convertor

RDRAM – Rambus Dynamic Random Access Memory

ROM – Read Only Memory

RPM – Revolutions Per Minute

— S —

SASID – Self-scanned Amorphous Silicon Integrated Display

SCA – SCSI Configured Automatically

SCSI – Small Computer System Interface

SDRAM – Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory

SECC – Single Edge Contact Connector

SODIMM – Small Outline Dual Inline Memory Module

SPARC – Scalable Processor ArChitecture

SOHO – Small Office Home Office

SRAM – Static Random Access Memory

SSE – Streaming SIMD Extensions

SVGA – Super Video Graphics Array

S/PDIF – Sony/Philips Digital Interface

— T —

TB – Terabytes

TBps – Terabytes per second

Tbps – Terabits per second

TDK – TDK Electronics

TEC – Thermoelectric Cooler

TPC – TipidPC

TWAIN – Technology Without An Important Name

— U —

UART – Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter

USB – Universal Serial Bus

UTP – Unshieled Twisted Pair

— V —

VCD – Video CD

VPN – Virtual Private Network

— W —

WAN – Wide Area Network

WTB – Want to Buy

WYSIWYG – What You See Is What You Get

— X —

XGA – Extended Graphics Array

XFX – XFX Graphics, a Division of Pine

XMS – Extended Memory Specification

XT – Extended Technology

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WINDOWS XP HIDDEN APPS

Posted: October 13, 2009 in System Basics, System Information, System Modifications, Tricks, Tweaking, Windows XP
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WINDOWS XP HIDDEN APPS

To run any of these apps go to Start > Run and type the executable name (ie charmap).

=========================================

1) Character Map = charmap.exe (very useful for finding unusual characters)

2) Disk Cleanup = cleanmgr.exe

3) Clipboard Viewer = clipbrd.exe (views contents of Windows clipboard)

4) Dr Watson = drwtsn32.exe (Troubleshooting tool)

5) DirectX diagnosis = dxdiag.exe (Diagnose & test DirectX, video & sound cards)

6) Private character editor = eudcedit.exe (allows creation or modification of characters)

7) IExpress Wizard = iexpress.exe (Create self-extracting / self-installing package)

8) Microsoft Synchronization Manager = mobsync.exe (appears to allow synchronization of files on the network for when working offline. Apparently undocumented).

9) Windows Media Player 5.1 = mplay32.exe (Retro version of Media Player, very basic).

10) ODBC Data Source Administrator = odbcad32.exe (something to do with databases)

11) Object Packager = packager.exe (to do with packaging objects for insertion in files, appears to have comprehensive help files).

12) System Monitor = perfmon.exe (very useful, highly configurable tool, tells you everything you ever wanted to know about any aspect of PC performance, for uber-geeks only )

13) Program Manager = progman.exe (Legacy Windows 3.x desktop shell).

14) Remote Access phone book = rasphone.exe (documentation is virtually non-existant).

15) Registry Editor = regedt32.exe [also regedit.exe] (for hacking the Windows Registry).

16) Network shared folder wizard = shrpubw.exe (creates shared folders on network).

17) File siganture verification tool = sigverif.exe

18) Volume Contro = sndvol32.exe (I’ve included this for those people that lose it from the System Notification area).

19) System Configuration Editor = sysedit.exe (modify System.ini & Win.ini just like in Win98! ).

20) Syskey = syskey.exe (Secures XP Account database – use with care, it’s virtually undocumented but it appears to encrypt all passwords, I’m not sure of the full implications).

21) Microsoft Telnet Client = telnet.exe

22) Driver Verifier Manager = verifier.exe (seems to be a utility for monitoring the actions of drivers, might be useful for people having driver problems. Undocumented).

23) Windows for Workgroups Chat = winchat.exe (appears to be an old NT utility to allow chat sessions over a LAN, help files available).

24) System configuration = msconfig.exe (can use to control starup programs)

25) gpedit.msc used to manage group policies, and permissions

Understanding Wi-Fi Networks

Posted: October 13, 2009 in System Information, Wi-Fi
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You’re on the road and you’ve found a location with a Wi-Fi broadcast device that your

mobile computer can talk to. A Wi-Fi broadcast device is variously referred to as an access

point, an AP, or a hotspot.

With your access point located, you’re ready to sit right down, establish a wireless

connection, and start reading your email and surfing the Web, right? Not so fast, partner.

It’s really important to understand that being able to “talk” with a wireless access point just

means that you can “talk” with a wireless access point. It doesn’t mean that you can connect

to the Internet unless the wireless access point is itself connected to the Internet.

So if Starbucks or whoever wants to provide you with the chance to surf on their turf while

you sip that latte, Starbucks needs to provide an Internet connection. Generally, this

connection is wired, and uses a cable or DSL (digital subscriber line) telephone line for high

speeds.

A high-speed wire brings the Internet to the location, and a Wi-Fi access point broadcasts the

wireless Internet connectivity to wireless devices.

Between the Internet connection and the Wi-Fi access point, there also needs to be some

hardware designed to connect with the Internet and share the connectivity. There are a whole

lot of different ways this can be done, depending on many factors. For now, you need to

understand that connecting to the Internet via Wi-Fi involves four things:

1. Your Wi-Fi device (the client)

2. A Wi-Fi broadcast unit (the access point)

3. Network connectivity hardware (such as a router and modem)

4. The actual Internet connection (usually via cable or DSL)

How To Change Your Ip In Less Than 1 Minute

Posted: October 13, 2009 in Networking, System Basics, System Information, System Tricks, Tricks
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1. Click on “Start” in the bottom left hand corner of screen

2. Click on “Run”

3. Type in “command” and hit ok

You should now be at an MSDOS prompt screen.

4. Type “ipconfig /release” just like that, and hit “enter”

5. Type “exit” and leave the prompt

6. Right-click on “Network Places” or “My Network Places” on your desktop.

7. Click on “properties”

You should now be on a screen with something titled “Local Area Connection”, or something close to that, and, if you have a network hooked up, all of your other networks.

8. Right click on “Local Area Connection” and click “properties”

9. Double-click on the “Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)” from the list under the “General” tab

10. Click on “Use the following IP address” under the “General” tab

11. Create an IP address (It doesn’t matter what it is. I just type 1 and 2 until i fill the area up).

12. Press “Tab” and it should automatically fill in the “Subnet Mask” section with default numbers.

13. Hit the “Ok” button here

14. Hit the “Ok” button again

You should now be back to the “Local Area Connection” screen.

15. Right-click back on “Local Area Connection” and go to properties again.

16. Go back to the “TCP/IP” settings

17. This time, select “Obtain an IP address automatically”

18. Hit “Ok”

19. Hit “Ok” again

20. You now have a new IP address

With a little practice, you can easily get this process down to 15 seconds.

P.S:

This only changes your dynamic IP address, not your ISP/IP address. If you plan on hacking a website with this trick be extremely careful, because if they try a little, they can trace it back

How to Avoid Malware

Posted: October 13, 2009 in Internet, System Basics, System Information
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Here are some tips to ensure malware is not given access to your computer:

• Keep your computer up to date.

• Keep your browser up to date.

• Install good antimalware.

• Download free software only from sites you know and trust.

• Avoid clicking links inside pop-up windows.

• If you are offered antimalware programs while browsing, don’t install them. Stick with the software I outline in this handbook.

By following these rules, you’ll protect yourself and decrease the chances of getting malware on your system. The rest of this handbook will show you how to apply the first three tips listed above.

Different Types of Threats to PC

Posted: October 13, 2009 in Internet, Security, System Information, Vista, Windows 7, Windows XP
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Malware – The generic term used for all forms of software designed with malicious intent. Viruses, worms, spyware etc. are all forms of malware. The term virus is often used when malware should really be used as it describes all forms of malicious software.

Virus – A computer virus acts very much like a human virus. Human viruses are spread, via thumb drives, floppy discs, network connections etc., to other PCs. Viruses need a host (like a free screensaver program) to spread. By pure definition: a virus has the ability to spread itself, via a host, to other computers.

Worm – A worm is much like a virus. The key difference is worms can spread between PCs without a host (free screensaver program, downloaded game etc.) These programsrely on computer networks and usually damage files and slow down networks in their path.

Trojan horse (Trojan) – A Trojan horse is a seemingly harmless program that looks to provide value. However, just as in Greek mythology, a Trojan horse has a secret agenda and acts as a backdoor to your computer. This backdoor can be accessed by a hacker to compromise your PC. Trojan horses are not self-replicating and spread due to users installing them manually on their PC.

Privacy-invasive software – A formal term used to describe software that invades your privacy. This software comes in different forms including spyware and adware.

Spyware – Spyware tracks a user’s activity by monitoring browsing habits and keyboard activity and can even take screenshots while you use your PC. This information is sent back to the creator or beneficiary of the spyware. Signs of spyware include: modified browser homepages, slow internet, and suspicious looking sites in place of legitimate sites (for example: banking sites.)

Adware – Like spyware, adware is software that may track visited websites and act as a key logger. Adware tracks this information to automatically display downloaded or installed adverts to a user. You may wonder why you are being offered “PC Super Anti Spyware 2011” when using your PC; this is adware at work. AIM, FlashGet, Deamon Tools, and RealPlayer are all examples of adware.

Backdoor – A backdoor is a point of access to a computer that does not require authentication. An unlocked house back door gives access to an otherwise secure home; a computer backdoor allows access to your PC without your knowledge or permission.

Key logger – Key loggers are used to monitor keyboard activity on a PC. These can be software-based (bundled with Trojan horses, adware, and spyware) or hardware-based (between the keyboard cable and the PC, acoustic etc.) Usually this information is retrieved across a local network, the internet, or from the physical device connected to the keyboard.

Firewall – A firewall both permits and blocks access to a network or PC. Firewalls are included with popular security software (e.g. AVG Internet Security and ESET Smart Security) and limit communication between your PC and devices that are not authorized to communicate with you.

Windows Firewall – Comes bundled with Windows XP, Vista, and 7. This is a great solution; however, due to a lack of comprehensive definition updates, Windows Firewall is not completely effective in blocking threats and allowing safe connections.

Antimalware / Antivirus / Antispyware – Software designed to remove or block malware (e.g. AVG Internet Security and ESET Smart Security.)