Sysadmin News

Ann Arbor (MI) - Owners of Apple’s iPhone should be prepared to face a “serious attack” that will strike the device in 2008, according to predictions released today by Arbor Networks.

Arbor, which focuses mainly on network security, said in its report that it expects several new vulnerabilities to pop up that will exploit the iPhone’s multimedia capabilities.

“Assaults are likely to be in the form of …  malware embedded into seemingly harmless information, images or other media that actually perform dangerous actions when rendered on the iPhone’s Web browser,” it said.

The group also noted that the iPhone will continue to be an attractive target because of hackers that want “bragging rights” for being among the first to attack a new platform.

The device, which launched this summer, has already become a hotbed for illegal hacks.  Apple has released multiple firmware updates for the iPhone to increase its security footing.

Additionally, Arbor predicts that 2008 will see a great rise in the amount of cyber crimes that originate in China.  It also says botnet attacks and hacks on peer-to-peer networks will increase.

The use of such attacks is also becoming more lucrative.  Arbor said these hacks will be used as part of “ever more sophisticated ways to both steal and launder money.”

This deals with what action is to be taken (during a reboot) after a power failure or an incomplete shutdown of a Linux system due to any reason. This problem seems to be very common since many newcomers install Linux and get all the various softwares/hardwares working under Linux and suddenly one day the power fails. There are a few things that you can try to get Linux back on track..

1. While rebooting, Linux may print a message saying that there is a problem with the file system and it might force a check. It would do this for all Linux partitions. If the checks (they generally take around 30-60 seconds. also displays a rotating indicator) are successful then you are lucky. Linux should mostly continue booting and you should be back in business soon. If this is what happens then you may be under an impression that a direct switch off of a Linux machine leads to no problems. Please note that you were just lucky that you got away without any major problems.

2. While rebooting, Linux may not be successful in any of the file system checks. In this case, the booting stops abruptly with a message stating that you should run fsck manually without a few parameters. Once you reach the hash prompt (#) then run the fsck command as mentioned (fsck -a -p /dev/hdaX). The fsck command requires the partition which it has to check. So if you have installed Linux on /dev/hda1 then you have to run fsck as follows: fsck -a -p /dev/hda1.

When you run fsck it would mostly find some inode problems and ask you whether you want to fix them, Select the default option (yes). It would do so for all the problems found. Once this is over you can restart the machine using either “Ctlr+Alt+Del” or “shutdown -r 0″, whichever works. Now this time your Linux machine should boot properly.

3. It has so happened that once when the power failed, Linux simple failed to boot on my machine. It gave no errors at all, but the init process would just not get initiated. It would find my partitions, mount the ext2 file system as read only and then would simply display a prompt. Even with this prompt I wasn’t able to do a lot. Also I noticed that a few of the default directories were missing on the native partition. The only solution that I found to this was to Reinstall Linux.

Note: While reinstalling, the best and safest way for the above problem would be to insert the installation media (Redhat Linux 6.1 CD). And instead of selecting to install the OS once again, select to upgrade the existing installation. This would effectively replace all the damages areas of the OS and would also retain all your personal data and configurations in Linux (This should work in almost all cases).
Hence I would always advice an upgrade to the same version (If you originally had Redhat Linux 6.1, insert the CD and once again select to upgrade to Redhat Linux 6.1 itself). If the upgrade option doesn’t fix the problem, then you would have to do a reinstall after a reformat of the Linux partitions.

4. In one case when Linux refused to boot I noticed that a few of the main files / directories were missing. I found that the /sbin directory (which is a very important directory) wasn’t there in the root directory. I performed a search for this directory and found it to be within another directory. After some discussion I realized that my friend has accidentally moved this directory within his GUI when he was working in superuser mode. As long as he was working a few commands didn’t work but he did not bother about finding out why they didn’t work. Once he rebooted his machine the absence of this directory hung the booting process. So I suggest that you never work in superuser mode unless absolutely necessary. Even within the superuser mode prefer the shell, since you can hardly ever do anything accidentally in the shell. In my friend’s case I simply moved that directory back within the root directory and Linux booted without any problems.

Take the time to have a look at the file system and make a mental note of the directory structure which appears to be pretty complex.

Article Source: http://ezarticles.net

Should you stay clear of something in your computer that stirs up a bunch of hives every time you reboot?

The Windows Registry is such a creature, and while it is certainly true that you can’t be too cautious when accessing and editing Registry files, there are significant advantages to learning more about them.

A general understanding of the Registry and how it works can help you identify and fix many of the problems commonly associated with its degradation, or safely navigate its contents to customize and optimize your system’s performance.

The Registry’s Role in Windows

The Registry is unique to Windows, and varies a bit among its different versions. The basic Registry structure common to all versions since the introduction of Windows 95 is that of a central database containing all the information a computer needs to access and manage its individual components and user accounts.

It stores the configuration data and settings for all installed hardware, the location of application data and file type definitions for all installed software, and the security information and individual application preferences for all users.

Whenever system components are removed or installed, or adjustments are made to Control Panel settings and Windows System Policies, these changes are reflected in the Windows Registry.

Registry Storage and Structure

Much of the information contained in the Registry is stored on the computer’s hard drive as a set of binary data files, strangely and appropriately named “hives”.

The hives are permanent Registry components, serving as both supporting files from which Windows retrieves Registry data during system startup, and as backup files that the Registry writes to each time its supporting data is altered or changed.

Although you can’t open up the hive files directly, you can see the data stored inside them by opening up the Registry itself with a Registry Editor utility like REGEDIT.EXE or REGEDT32.exe.

These utilities display the Registry’s contents within a hierarchical structure of keys and subkeys, analogous to the directories and subdirectories you see in Windows Explorer.

At the top of this tree-like structure are the root keys, whose labels begin with “HKEY_”. Each of these root keys branches out, first into keys and then further into subkeys. At the end of these branches of keys and subkeys lay the Registry data, or value entries, corresponding to the data stored in the hive files.

Applications, INI Files, and the Registry

Applications can interact with the Registry in many ways. They can open and close existing keys, create new keys, and delete old keys in order to retrieve, add, change, or remove data from the Registry. In short, they can store all the information they need to launch and run within the centralized, hierarchical structure of the Registry.

Before the Windows Registry was introduced, applications looked to INI files to find the configuration information, user passwords and settings, and data paths required for their execution. Because INI files are simple text files, they can’t organize their data hierarchically and must be read line-by-line for their data to be accessed.

As text files they are also easier to access and edit than the Registry’s hive files or the Registry itself, but are more difficult and time-consuming to find, since they are generally stored in the folders of their associated applications.

With the introduction of Windows 95, the Registry replaced most of the text-based .INI files (including WIN.INI) that were used in Windows 3.x. The idea behind the Registry was to allow multiple applications to store the data needed for their execution in a single central location, with the binary hive files and hierarchical structure making the Registry more compact and easier to navigate.

Article Source: http://ezarticles.net

Most veteran PC gamers know exactly what they want in a gaming laptop, and those who have the time and money have probably already built their dream computer themselves, but if you are a little newer to the field, a little more fond of the smaller notebook footprint, or a little less comfortable with a do-it-yourself computer, you need to be armed with these basic facts before purchasing your gaming laptop.

The three most important components for any high-end laptop are the processor, RAM and graphics card. Since you are building a gaming rig, you will want to focus on your graphics card first and foremost. Make sure you load up the video memory with at least 256MB and remember to select a notebook that has a dedicated graphics card. Integrated graphics simply cannot handle any modern, 3D gaming.

The next most important component is your processor. Dual-core CPUs are the hottest thing out right now. Ideally, you want to stay within the top two or three fastest dual-core CPUs, in terms of processor speed, that are currently available at the time of your purchase. This will ensure that your notebook is fully optimized for all of today’s latest 3D games.

The third most important factor in the speed of your laptop is RAM. You will need at least 1GB to safely play most 3D games without any memory bottlenecking, although most hardcore gamers opt for 2GB or more just for the added punch and/or bragging rights.

The fourth and final tip would be to go with 7200rpm hard drives, as these will definitely speed up load times by adding some extra horsepower to your gaming machine.

With recent advancements in mobile technologies, laptops are now becoming more and more popular in the gaming community, as the prospect of a portable gaming rig that can produce desktop-like performance on the go is something that appeals to all gamers. Just remember to follow these four simple guidelines to ensure that your laptop will be able to meet or exceed all of the hardware requirements for your gaming sessions.

This article may be republished freely as long as this copyright notice and box of resource links are included at the bottom.

Article Source: http://ezarticles.net

As a computer repair expert I get asked this allot. Should I just buy a new computer or fix the one I have? Here are some tips and simple questions to ask yourself.

Is your current computer working? If your computer is broken and over 3 years old call around to local repair shops and get an estimate on how much it might cost to fix. View www.windowvistarepair.com and join there free forum for what questions to ask. Now that you have a price in mind here are some questions to ask yourself. If I get this computer fixed will it do everything I want it to do? Does it still run all the programs I want to use? What in the near future do you plan to use your computer for? Is the computer really slow because the new software programs are so advanced? If you stop and ask yourself what you use the computer for and what you plan on using it for in the next few years most of the time you can come to a simple conclusion.

If your computer is already working but just started slowing down you may just need a little computer tune-up. Over time computers start to slow down because they get more programs installed on them and all these programs are running in the background. Getting a system tune up can be a cheap way of speeding up your computer and optimizing it.

As Technology advances your computer will become obsolete. For those of you out there running windows 98 ME or 2000 my answer to you is go buy a new computer. If you are running XP and everything runs fine but the computer is slow check and see how much memory you have installed. If it is 256 or less you can boost your computers speed just buying another stick of memory. Just contact your local computer shop with your computer model and they will be able to tell you what kind of memory to purchase.

For all your computer repair needs please go to http://www.windowvistarepair.com and join our free computer repair forum. You will get the expert advise you need to repair any computer issue you have for Vista, XP, ME, and 2000. We also have a section dedicated to notebooks and PC brands like Dell and HP.

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So you’ve decided that you want to put a web page online. It could be about yourself, your family, a hobby you like or just a internet-brochure for a small business. Whatever the case, you’ve decided that the features and most importantly the cost of business web hosting is just too much and unnecessary in your case. Well, not to worry. Personal web hosting is the ideal solution.

Personal web hosting does not, in any way, imply that you get low quality hosting. These days, with CPU and storage prices so low, you can probably serve the needs of a medium-sized business with a personal web hosting plans. In fact, you should not even compare business vs personal web hosting because, technically speaking, the definitions are meaningless. The only major differences in web hosting plans are between shared hosting, such as most personal hosting accounts and some business hosting accounts, and dedicated servers, in which case you rent your very own server (yes, an actual machine) on the data center of a major hosting company.

Now that we’ve got this out of the way, bear in mind that the biggest challenge for the beginner web master is that personal web hosting plans usually have less technical support than business plans. Of course, you can always use forums or just search engines to find the answers to your first problems or questions. And as a beginner web-master, you’re unlikely to come across very sophisticated and challenging issues.

However, personal web hosting is not just about minor disadvantages to business web hosting. There is also a major advantage. Most personal hosting companies offer some type of website building interface as well as website templates, specifically designed and developed for small websites. Most of the times, you can change the complete look and feel of your site just by clicking a button on a web form. And it’s become almost standard that these templates offer some sort of content management, user navigation (menus on the left, right or top) as well as libraries of pictures. So, for most people, this alone is enough to make them choose personal hosting plans rather than business plans, even if they’re on the same price. In computers, it’s not always less vs more, it’s feature A vs. feature B. Always make sure you understand what your needs are before proceeding.

As a final note, don’t forget to do your market research before you buy a personal web hosting plan. Especially if you choose to use an in-house website builder by the hosting company, it’ll be impossible to migrate your site to a different host, should you find the specific company unreliable or unsupportive.

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Malware is now a common plague of computers these days and has become more common than the conventional virus. In this article you will find explanations of the different types of Malware, how to remove an infection and how to prevent an infection in the first.

What is Malware?

Malware is a malicious piece of software designed to damage your PC or spy on your computer activities without you knowing about it. What follows is a list of common types of malware and their descriptions.

Adware
Adware will hide on your computer and show pop up windows containing adverts for various dubious products. This type of malware is more annoying than harmful.

Virus
A virus is designed to hide within other executable software and to become active when the host software is activated. It will self replicate and place copies of itself into other software or documents. This can cause an increasing infestation of you PC and cause all sorts of damage.

The worm
A worm will also make copies of itself just like a virus but can execute itself without the need for a host application. It will then send multiple copies of itself to other computers via the internet.

Ransom Ware
Ransom ware is used to extort money from the computer owner by locking up important files on your computer. A message will be displayed demanding the appropriate ransom before giving access to the files.

Trojan Horses
Trojan horses conceal their true identity by masquerading as or hiding inside legitimate software. They usually get on to your computer in some form of free software downloaded from the internet.

Spyware
Spyware is designed to monitor and record all of your keyboard actions, internet activity and personal details such as credit card details and passwords sending them via the internet to the spyware maker using email.

Symptoms of an infected computer:

If your computer has displayed a considerable reduction in speed it could be infected with malware, it sometimes may even appear to pause or hang. Another is that windows will behave erratically and unstable. Malware will sometimes display popup windows at random. If you have a good antivirus program it should let you know of the presence of Malware and offer to remove it for you.

How Does my Computer Get Infected?

Emails
If you receive any email from unknown or unexpected senders make sure that you scan it before opening it with your anti virus software and if you have any doubts do not open it.

Websites
Browsing some websites that are suspect can lead to infection because the Malware can be hidden as code in the web page itself.

Peer to Peer File Sharing Software
File sharing software enables the user to share illegal music, software and video and is a common way to get infected. A lot of the files available on peer to peer networks have Malware hidden within them or are not the files you were expecting at all.

Popup messages
Malware can often infect your computer through popups or IP popups. IP popups can be sent strait to your computers IP address bypassing popup blockers. These popups are usually disguised as Windows error messages asking you to ‘click here’ to remedy the error. Clicking the button will execute the Malware.

Instant Messaging Software
This may be a surprise to many of you as instant messaging software is becoming very popular. Infection usually happens when sharing files with people so be careful who you share files with.

Networks
All computers on a network are at risk of infection if one of those computers have Malware on it. For that reason all network computers must be protected by antivirus software and a firewall.

How to prevent Malware infection:

Use Internet Securities Software
I advise all computer users to invest in good quality internet securities software from companies such as Semantec and McAfee. It is not advisable to use free anti virus software as these don’t tend to be as effective and can also be Malware disguised as anti virus software. Whichever one you use just make sure that you keep it regularly updated and remember to renew your yearly subscription. Remember, out of date anti virus software is completely useless.

Use A Firewall
Windows XP and Vista both have a firewall built in and you should have them switched on. If you have a good internet securities program this will have a firewall included which should be used in favour of the Microsoft version.

Use Windows Update
You should use Windows Update on a regular basis to ensure that you have all the latest critical updates. Security holes in windows are often found and Microsoft will have patches for these available..

How To Remove Malware From Your Computer:

With any good internet securities application removing malware is a simple task. If you set them up to do so they will remove malware automatically and then inform you once the offender has been dealt with.

A Final Word Of Caution:

You will be at a much higher risk of infection if you visit illegal or immoral websites, these sites tend to be set up and frequented by people who have no scruples and will think nothing of infecting your computer along with many others.

Notebook computers - also known as laptop computers - have become an important part of our lives. They are more affordable than ever and as popular as cell phones. A laptop computer has a versatility that the home PC does not provide. With its smaller size it is portable and easier to carry along. This makes it convenient to use in many situations. You can take it to work and back home as well as take it on more extensive travel.

Laptop computers are not just for older working people anymore. Because of its ease of use, more young people are using them for school and college. They can access the Internet almost anywhere and provide updates for work, research, and even games.

Taking Care of Your Laptop or Notebook Computer

It is important to take care of your laptop computer and protect it from accidents. They are designed for heavy use but common sense will tell you that you need to be prudent in your treatment.

One of the first recommendations is to buy a case designed for a notebook computer. These are made with padding to protect your laptop computer from wear and tear and protection in case you drop it. It is not good to carry your notebook computer unprotected or in a purse or backpack. You can easily find a case by shopping online where you will find 1000s of products to choose from.

Another important tip for laptop computer care is to keep food and drinks away from it. Even a small amount of liquid is enough to ruin the delicate components in the laptop computer. It means almost certain replacement, and most warranties will not cover it. It is not worth the risk to lose all your data.

Protect Your Notebook Computer

When using your laptop computer you should always use a surge protector. An electrical surge may not hurt it one time, but continued surges could destroy it. If you are using a cable or dial-up modem during a storm, be sure to unplug it. Lightening can travel through phone lines and ruin the laptop computer.

You should not leave your notebook computer in a cold environment. This can cause condensation when you return it to a warm area and could cause the circuitry to short it out. If it has been in the cold, let it warm up before turning it on.

When traveling with your laptop computer, be sure to charge all your batteries before you leave. You might not know when you will be able to charge them again. On a long trip, take extra batteries to avoid this problem. By shopping online, you can find the supplies you need as well as other products such as iPods, jewelry, games, toys, sporting goods, pet supplies and cell phones - even free gifts.

Do not leave your notebook computer unattended and do not check it as baggage when flying. Keep it in your hands at all times to avoid the possibility of theft. Don’t try to disassemble or repair your laptop computer; this is a job for professionals. You may inadvertently cause more damage by your lack of knowledge.

Shopping Online

When you are ready to buy a laptop computer, cell phone, iPod, or other electronics, shopping online will provide everything you need.

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I work at a interactive marketing agency in the Boston area. For those of you who don’t know, working at an agency means long hours and late nights. Being a bit of a techie guy, I have a pretty advanced setup at home, at least to the point that I’m still running Windows and not Linux, but that’s another story. So I spend a lot of nights working from home on projects for my Fortune 1000 clients, and that means tight deadlines and a lot of money on the table. It also means that I depend on my computer, a lot, so it needs to be running in tip-top shape.

I didn’t always take such good care of my computer, however. One particular evening, I was working on a project and the unthinkable happened. It was late, very late, and had spent the better part of an evening at my computer. I was getting ready to call it a night and decided to take one last look at my presentation. When I went to open it, however, I received an error window and my computer shut off. Upon restarting, I got another error and the computer turned off again, before it even finished booting windows! Now I had a problem on my hands. Several hours of work on a presentation were being held hostage on my computer, and this was due in the morning. It took a couple hours of tinkering before I could copy the file to another location and retrieve it there, but thankfully I got it.

The next day, when I had some time to address the cause of the error instead of just frantically trying to rescue data, I managed to get windows to finishing loading. After that, however, I was lost. I had no idea what was causing the error or how to fix it. I really didn’t want to reinstall windows or buy a new computer, so I started doing some research online. It was then that I learned about registry cleaners. Registry cleaners scan your Windows registry for invalid entries that inevitably happen over time. These invalid entries cause many of the problems that most people have with their computers. Whether it’s running slow, giving you error messages or shutting down suddenly, all this can usually be fixed by repairing your Windows registry.

I’ve now invested in a registry cleaner, called Registry Smart, which I use on a regular basis to keep my computer running smoothly. I no longer have any computer trouble, which gives me the peace of mind to focus on what’s really important, my clients!

It’s fairly safe to say these days that most of us, (around 80%) have bought a well-known antivirus package. Personally, I favour Norton but McAfee, AVG and a few others dominate the antivirus and spyware market. There is of course a good reason for this.

Popularity is the main reason. When you buy a computer the chances are you would buy it from a high street computer shop, a well-known internet name such as Dell, or on the strength of a recommendation. You would be very cautious about handing over your hard-earned cash to a company you have never heard of, and rightly so. The same applies to an antivirus software download. Most of us would much rather spend our money on one of the big names mentioned above, (even if they are more expensive) because we know that we will be getting a high level of protection from a brand we can trust. The only time we are likely to deviate from this is if we are offered a free antivirus program / trial or if someone we trust recommends different antivirus software downloads. What most people don’t realise, (also around 80%) is that we shouldn’t rely solely on these programs. Why?

Once we buy and install this antivirus software we let it run and forget about it. We assume we are safe and fully protected because we bought the best there is. To a point this is true. I would always recommend buying your main antivirus package from a recognised brand. Personally I use Norton Internet Security. It not only protects against viruses but it comes with automatic updates, checks my emails for viruses and spyware, and even comes with Norton GO-Back which is a more advanced version of Microsoft’s, “System Restore”. This is all wonderful stuff but there is one problem. Something that affects every one of these big brands of software.

If you are familiar with computers you may have heard that using an alternative operating system or internet browser such as firefox is safer. The reason for this is that Creators of Viruses, Trojans, Spyware, Worms and all the other types of malicious bugs are very clever. They know that almost everyone uses Internet Explorer. They also know that 80% of people use one of 5-6 big software brands.

When the viruses is created it is usually intended to reach as many computers as possible. Therefore it is only logical that the first targets to overcome are the big named brands. If the virus get get past this antivirus software undetected then it stands a very good chance of infecting thousands of machines. Now this is where the problem lies. Norton, McAfee and other big names are always the first target. There is nothing they can do about this other than to be as prepared as possible.

This is where the consumer needs to get wise. As stated above I would always recommend owning one of the recognised antivirus software packages as your first line of defence. But if this was all there was to it, then nobody would ever get a Virus on their machine. We know for a fact that thousands, (maybe more) still get infected everyday. so how do we prevent this?

The answer is very simple and inexpensive. There are hundreds of lesser known antivirus downloads available on the market. These are not frequently targeted by the creators of viruses because there is less opportunity for their virus to spread. Many of these programs will run quite happily alongside your main software, or you can just use them to run a scan periodically.

So, to ensure you are as fully protected as possible here is what you should do. First, buy or keep your current recognised ‘big brand’ software. This is a vital step that should not be missed (the smaller cheaper antivirus downloads are unlikely to provide adequate cover on their own). Secondly, buy a lesser known spyware scanner and remover. Thirdly, Also buy a lesser known adware stopper. It is important to note that there is no need to spend vast sums of money here. You can very easily purchase both of these products for far less than half of the cost of Norton, or McAfee.

This may sound like a time-consuming effort, but once it is installed you can simply set it to run once a week and forget about it just like your current software. By buying separate programs like this you maximise your chances of spotting anything untoward on your PC. For the sake of a few $$ you could potentially save the security of your bank account or credit card details. Don’t delay in taking action!