Keep Computer Virus Free

Why pay for expensive Anti-Virus software (with a yearly renewal fee to boot) when you can get the same results for free.

By utilizing a minimal combination of free software downloads, exercising practical safeguards and keeping your computer clean (with a regular software cleaning) you can easily maintain a virus free system.

All software recommendations are freeware and can be found at the links below. They do not contain adware or spyware. I recommend them because I use them and they work.

Things You’ll Need:
-Spybot – Search & Destroy
-Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware
-CCleaner
-Active Firewall
-Active Pop-Up Blocker

Instructions
Step 1
Check with your ISP (Internet Service Provider) to see if they provide free virus protection software. Most large ISP’s, whether affiliated with your cable or phone company provide the service at no charge.

Note: Register online by logging onto your ISP website. After providing your account info, you will be able to download and run the Anti-Virus installation file. The programs set up menu will guide you from there. Once activated it will monitor your internet connection at no charge.

Step 2
Turn ON the Firewall. Windows systems have built in firewall protection which is really the first line of defense against unauthorized use of your computer. On most Windows systems, simply go to Control Panel and click on Firewall under the Security icon. Verify that it is active.

Step 3
Enable your Pop-Up Blocker. The two most popular web browsers, Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox both come with automatic Pop Up Blockers which block ads that Pop-up on screen when you visit a web page. Simply go to your active web browsers menu at the top of the screen and access the Pop-Up settings under Tools/Options.

WARNING: If a stray pop-up does show up on your screen while browsing, most can be removed by clicking on the Red X in the upper right corner of the pop up (don’t hit the OK button.) Some pop-ups – created with bad intentions – will not close directly, will be replaced immediately by another, will redirect you to another web page or may lock your web browser page (possibly downloading spyware.) If you suspect this, immediately disengage your internet connection, close your web browser and run anti-spyware software as a precaution.

Step 4
Run Spybot – Search & Destroy and Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware once a week. These are two of the most effective free anti-spyware programs available. Both remove all types of spyware and tracking cookies from your system. In addition, Spybot features a real-time monitor called Tea Timer which instantly warns of suspicious behavior (like registry changes.)

Note: Using both programs, I run the update feature and scan operation once a week or after a particular heavy computer use period.

Step 5
Run CCleaner once a day to keep your system uncluttered. CCleaner is an easy to use quick scanning cleaning tool which removes unused files from your computer system. Eliminating these files – which are automatically downloaded to your hard drive after each web page visited – optimizes your system allowing it to run faster and frees up your disk space. Its like emptying the daily trash that accumulates on your computer.

Note: I run the cleaner scan once a day and check for updates once a week. I also make use of the onboard registry cleaner which I run once a week to clean the system registry.

Step 6
Beware of File Attachments. NEVER click on an attachment file for an email or instant message from an unknown sender. This is the most common way to download a virus. You should delete the email immediately. Also verify that your communication software is not set up to automatically open attachments when you open emails or messages.

Step 7
Turn Off Your Modem when not actively using the connection for a prolonged period. Most external modems supplied by your ISP have a button which will disengage the internet connection. If not, call your ISP to see if they can provide you with one that does. If they cannot or won’t, unplug the power supply to the modem.

WARNING: “Do you leave your front door unlocked when you leave your house?” Well that’s exactly what your doing when you leave your computer unattended while connected to the internet. The modem is a doorway into your computer and can be an open invitation to the uninvited.

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Improve iPhone Battery Life

Do you love your iPhone? Certainly you do, and so you might be interested in knowing how to take good care of your iPhone so that it could live longer. Since it’s your all in one device, so you just stick to it, the decreased battery life is very obvious. This article will guide you how you can enhance the battery life of your iPhone. Here it goes:

1. Turn off 3G, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, location services, equalizer etc when they’re not required. You must know that all these eat up lot of battery, so turning them off when not required saves lot of battery and hence increases the battery life too.

2. Turn off Auto-Brightness: It’s basically to change iPhone’s screen brightness on the basis of surrounding light and so consumes battery. Also lowering the brightness can save lot of battery. Any brightness level between 25% and 30% is ideal for all times, i.e. day and night. Not a bad idea to keep a constant brightness level, as it’ll be good for iPhone battery as well as your eyes.

3. Turn of sound effects. It really saves lot of your battery. Many times you can have fun without sound effects too!

4. Don’t forget to have a monthly battery calibration. As strictly advised by Apple is to 100% charge the iPhone’s battery when it has completely drained. It means, get the battery completely finished, then charge it fully. An easy option!

5. iPhone case is though a good protective measure, but charging your iPhone within case can harm and may reduce the battery life of your iPhone. This is mainly because iPhone generates heat during charging and when it’s covered with the case, that heat doesn’t get released and so it may damage battery cells or iPhone circuit.

The above list of battery saving tips may not be complete, and you can always add up your points to it, but it covers almost all areas where you can protect your iPhone battery. Use your iPhone with proper care, and it’ll live longer and perform best, exactly how and till when you want it!

credits to Martina James

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How to repair a dead hard drive

When a hard drive goes bad, the first thing you'll probably do is have a good old curse at the platter gods for picking on you. You then might decide to have a bit of a panic when you realize that you didn't back up your files.

Shortly after sweating out a few pounds, you'll probably have a go at fixing it. Well, it's worth a shot after all. But chances are, unless you know exactly what the problem is and have the skills necessary to fix it, you're pretty much up poop alley.

If you're lucky and the disk head or motor hasn't been damaged, the problem could lie in the controller board or printed circuit board (PCB). Often, when there's a power surge or the drive overheats, it can damage the board. If this happens, then you can quite easily replace the PCB with one that is working and bring your hard drive back to life.

A common sign that a PCB has been in the wars is a scorch mark, but sometimes there are no visual cues to give the game away.

First things first

The PCB might not be the problem after all, then, but it's the one area of the drive that you should tackle first when something goes wrong. After all, a replacement PCB from a specialist like www.hdd-parts.com will set you back around £25 delivered to your door, so it's a relatively inexpensive way of fixing your drive.

If you were feeling plucky, you could just go to a data specialist and get a man in a white coat in a lab to carefully take your entire hard drive apart and put it all back together, in the hope of rescuing your drive, but you'll be looking at a bill for at least £1,000. Unless you really, really need the files on that drive, you'll avoid this route and go down the PCB road first.

Back to life

Does it really work? Well, we tried it on a drive that had suddenly stopped working one day. There were no horrible clicking sounds, it simply wouldn't power on – the thing was lifeless. So, we replaced the PCB with an identical working one and managed to get it working again.

This wasn't after trying it on many different drives – this was the first one we'd worked on, so it wasn't a fluke.

It's worth mentioning that if this works for you, and there's a pretty good chance that it will, once it's up and running again, don't get lazy and put it back in your PC. If it failed once, there's a probability that it will fail again. Our advice is to transfer all your sacred files to another drive and then bin it… or pop it in the trophy cabinet.

Step-by-step: Fix your hard drive

1. Take drive details down 

Get a replacement PCB identical to your current one, otherwise it won't work. Note down the model number (below the S/N), the P/N, the Firmware code, Date code and Site code, as well as the Main Controller IC number, which is located on the main square black chip in the middle of the actual PCB. In our case it was the six-digit code near the top, above the word 'SEAGATE'.


2. Search for it online

Go to hdd-parts.com and enter the model of the dead drive (in our case, it's the 11-digit code two lines down from the top of the drive) into the search box at the top of the page. This won't give you the exact model, but look through the list of results and find the drive that matches all the numbers you noted down in the first step. Now, buy it!

3. Check your parts

The new PCB should take about six to 10 working days to arrive through the post. When the mail man comes round, you should receive a box with a replacement working PCB inside, as well as a torx screwdriver and installation instructions – not that you'll need this last bit. If something is amiss, email the company and they will get back to you within a couple of days.

4. Remove the old PCB

On top of the PCB you'll see five screws connecting it to the hard drive. Undo them using the torx screwdriver included in the kit, making sure that you don't lose any of them. They're pretty tiny, so once you've managed to remove them all, place them into a zip-lock bag so they don't go astray if you decide to have a break between now and the next step.

5. Attach new PCB

Make sure you ground yourself – an easy way of doing this is to put on an anti-static wrist band – and then carefully take the replacement PCB out of its anti-static bag. Pop it onto your old hard drive, making sure you line it up with the original screw holes. Take the screws from your zip-lock bag and screw the PCB down, ensuring each screw is reasonably tight.

6. Try out your drive

Turn on your PC. Then connect your hard drive to your dock, plug it into the PC and power it up. If the problem with your old drive was due to a faulty PCB, replacing it should now allow your drive to be recognised properly. Access the fi les you need, then copy them to your PC. Don't attempt to use the drive once this is done: chances are it might turn faulty in the future.

credits to Nick Odantzis

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Maximize your Laptop Battery

Battery of our laptop/Tablet Pc is a source of power beside the power outlet. Full or perfect charged battery is always our companion when we are out of town. Or attending meetings, seminars we always check our bullets before we go to war. Or charge our battery to full capacity as it can.

Lithium-Ion batteries have a finite life. they slowly degrade from the day they are first made. The life of the battery will depend upon how you charge and discharge the battery and the temperature at which the battery is kept. The truth about Li-ion batteries is that high temperatures are their worst enemy. Therefore, the following tips will help prevent laptop batteries from getting too warm.

•  Always use a laptop on a hard surface. Don’t put it on your lap (despite its name) or on thermal insulating materials such as cushions. If you like to work in bed with your laptop, I recommend using a laptop table.
• Try to avoid charging the battery while you are working with the laptop. Charging the batteries increases your laptop’s temperature. The problem is that the CPU, the graphics card and the hard disk also heat up your laptop, which adds to the temperature increase experienced when charging the battery. Many vendors deliver their laptops with software that allows you to disable charging. You also can remove the battery while you are working on AC current.
• Make sure the laptop’s ventilation can always work properly. Don’t place objects before the ventilation systems opening. Don’t run or charge the laptop while it is in its case.
• Don’t leave the laptop in the car or under the sun in summer. Use a bike. It keeps your laptop battery cool and your own battery healthy. And too much sun exposure causes only skin cancer anyway.
• Do Not - Charge your Notebook/Tablet PC inside a carry case - the battery may overheat.
• Condition a new battery by using it until it is fully discharged,  and then re-charge it fully.  Doing this once a month will help to accurately calibrate your battery.
• When you receive a new NoteBook or Tablet PC, leave the battery to fully charge overnight.

Note:
A manufacturer will rate a Notebook battery to the point where it holds 50% of its original capacity. At this point you should consider replacing the battery.

credits to rikki_ mortel

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How to Recover Deleted Partitions

 

If the partition is deleted, your vital and important data stored on those partitions may become inaccessible which may create many hardships to the persons who are depending on those data. Is there a way to recover deleted partition or recover data in the deleted partition?

The answer is Yes. If you accidentally deleted a partition, partition recovery software EASEUS Partition Recovery can recover deleted or lost partitions. If a partition is deleted, the program will analyze the disk and recover the deleted partitions.

EASEUS Partition Recovery is a free partition recovery software to recover deleted or lost partitions.

1. Download this software from here, install it.
2. After -installing Run EASEUS Partition Recovery, and then you will see the following window. Click "Next" to continue.

3. Please choose a disk where you want to recover lost partitions and click "Next" to continue.
4. Choose a specified area to search for the lost partitions and click "Next" to continue.
5. Please choose a search method to start partition recovery. (There are two search methods: Fast and Complete.)
6. EASEUS Partition Recovery starts searching the deleted or lost partitions.

7. After the search is completed, choose the deleted or lost partitions to recover.
8. Click "Proceed" to execute the operations. 

credits to Surbhi

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Think Before Using USB Flash Drives To Run Applications or OS: Advisory

I am writing this post on an advisory note. With the extensive use of USB flash driven in our day to day activities, now we have been aiming to make even our Operating System(OS) portable by installing it in a USB Flash Drive and carrying around in our pocket. Moreover we can run applications such as Mozilla, Anti Viruses etc. from a USB pen drives. Here I am going to explain, why you need to think twice before using your USB Flash Drive to run an Operating System from it.

Why you should think twice before using a USB Flash Drive to run an OS or applications for prolonged period?

All flash memory devices can sustain only a limited number of write and erase cycles before failure. While running a normal OS or an Application from a Flash drive, the system will write and erase a huge number of files and data in the flash drive. With prolonged use, the write/erase cycles of your flash drive may come to an end and may eventually fail.

The write/erase cycle performed while running an Operating System(OS) such as Windows XP or 7 will be very much more than what we can perform manually, by copying and deleting data. So this should be a consideration as it may make your flash drive run out of Write/erase cycles much faster than expected.

Another usage of USB is Windows ReadyBoost. Windows 7 and Vista can make use of a USB flash drive as a cache memory to improve the performance.  In this case also the cycles are be used a high rate.

Points to be Noted:

• Flash memory devices have a limited number of write and erase cycles before failure
•  Running an OS or an Application from a Flash drive will write and erase a huge number of files or data in the flash drive per second.
• Running an Operating System(OS) will perform these cycles much more than what we can perform manually
• Prolonged use will make your flash drive run out of write/erase cycles and may eventually fail much before expected

How to address this issue?

To address this, as well as space limitations, some developers have produced special versions of operating systems such as Linux in Live USB or portable applications such as Mozilla Firefox designed to run from flash drives. These are typically optimized for size and configured to place temporary or intermediate files in the computer RAM rather than store them temporarily on the flash drive.

Compared to other portable storage devices such as external hard drives, USB flash drives still have a high price per unit of storage. But Hard drives have a higher minimum price.

Alternatives:

• Run applications or OS which are configured  for Flash Drive use only
• For Prolonged usage, try buying an external Hard Drive
•  If you are using your USB Drive as a Cache device to improve performance, why not upgrade your RAM size?

Notes:

1. Manual usage of your USB Drive will take years to use up the Write/erase cycles available, so no need to worry.
2. Most Failures in USB Memory Devices are due to wear and tear

credits to dennis

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