February 3, 2009

What exactly is a hijack?

Q:
What exactly is a hijack and are there different kinds I should look out for when I'm using my computer?

A:
That's a wonderful question! I'm actually quite surprised that we've never gone over this in a tip before. With that in mind, now is the perfect time to do so. Like any virus or piece of spyware that invades your computer, a hijack is similar. generic brand for cialis They work in just a little different way though. So, let's tackle this subject and continue to keep you and your computer safe!

Basically, a computer hijacker is any type of software that messes with your Web browser. They begin by resetting the preferences you have chosen and they then point that information to other Web sites. For example, a hijacker may work to reroute the information you have set in place, along with any Web address requests you make. The hijacker will point that information to some sort of unseen site and with doing that, they are able to capture all of that material. If something like this happens, your Web browser may still work the same, but it will react much slower.

There are a couple of other types of hijacks as well, including search and homepage hijacks. A search hijacker will change all of the search settings you have chosen and a homepage hijacker will change your preferred homepage to a completely different site. I'm sure you've all had experience with a homepage hijack before, am I right? You know, you choose a site to be your homepage and then the next time you open your browser, it has changed. How frustrating!

Hijacking has been known for awhile now, but it's still pretty popular. It may not be as scary as a virus, but it still has its downfalls. If you ever get caught in a hijack, there are some pretty simple ways to fix them. See, what the hijackers are doing is messing with your registry keys. They go in and change certain settings so you're unable to do what you intended to on your computer.

So, to fix the search hijack, open Internet Explorer and go to Tools, Internet Options, Programs tab. You will see a listing of some of your Internet services. Look past those and in the bottom left hand corner, there is a button that says "Reset Web Settings." Click that and the registry keys will be renewed. Click OK when you're finished.

To fix the homepage problem, you have to disable some scripting within your browser. In Internet Explorer, go to Tools, Internet Options, Security tab. Make sure the Internet icon is highlighted and click on the Custom Level button. Scroll down to the Scripting area and choose the Disable option under both the "Active scripting" and "Scripting of Java applets" choices. Then click OK twice.

That wasn't too bad, was it?! Now, you should be safe from any hijackers who may try to hit your computer. You can't beat that!

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Ping Pong

Do you have any idea what the term "ping" means in the world of computers? If not, allow me to give you a brief definition. Basically, ping is short for Packet InterNet Groper and it is a utility that is most widely used to check for network errors. It's the main utility that is used to verify whether or not a network data packet can be sent to an address (usually an IP address) without any errors.

Now, let me try to explain how a ping process works. First, a ping command is used to ping an IP address and that request is then sent over the network to the computer with that address. Once it's successfully received, the computer produces what is called a "pong" response. The time between the two is then calculated to come up with an average response time. If the ping, for some reason, does not make it through to its destination, the computer will then receive a timed out error.

So, if you've ever received an error like that, you now know that it's coming from the ping utility. The term ping is also used quite a bit in computer gaming. In this case, it goes by either a high ping or a low ping and it basically has to do with how fast of a connection a user has to the game server. For example, if you play games online, you'll want to have a lower ping rate (around 50 is good). If you have too high of a ping speed, you may not be able to play, because a lot of game servers only accept low pings. Well, hopefully that helps you all in understanding this computer term a little more. As you can see, it's all in the ping and the free cialis pills pong!

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Namepedia

Welcome to Namepedia, an encyclopedia for names! Have you ever wondered what your first name means? Would you like to find out how your last name originated? Maybe you’d like to find a baby name. Well, you can do all of that and more right here!

In the center of the main page, you'll find a search engine. It has four tabs above it: First Name, Family Name (last name/surname), Full Name and Real People. There's also a More option, but I didn’t use it.

Type in a first name if you just want to try it out. You can use your own name or you could use my name. I put in Amanda and clicked on Search.

After you search and choose the entry you want, you'll find the origin, meaning, relations, pronunciation and even a rating for the name on the page. It was really neat to listen to the different pronunciations of my name.

Along the top of the page, there free cialis coupon are more tabs. Some correlate with the search engine and some don’t. They are: First Names, Family Names, Real People, Baby, Interactive and More.

I really liked the baby section. You can even create your own list of baby names. To do so, you’ll need to register for the Web site. All you need to do is click on the Create an Account link at the top of the page, put in an e-mail address, a password and then log in. You should then get a confirmation e-mail. Now, choose how you’d like it to appear: public, friends only, private, whether the child is male or female, where they’ll live, what language they’ll speak and the 10 names you like.

People can then vote on the names you picked. That would be a great way to get your friends' and family's opinion on baby names you’ve chosen. Check out the list I created as an example here. They can then rate the names you picked and offer you three more ideas of their own. They can also leave a comment and then click on the Send My Opinion button.

If you’re into celebrities, the Real Name section is for you! Here you can search for famous people by name. For example, Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett and Emmy Rossum. If you search, they’ll give you the full name of the celebrity, their nationality and what their profession is. Also, at the bottom, you'll find articles about them.

This Web site is definitely worth bookmarking for all your naming needs!

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Google Flu Trends

Did you know that Google is not just a search engine company? Everyone knows about www.google.com and all of the programs and features it offers to help the everyday computer user, but many people don't know about the other part of Google called www.google.org.

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Google.org is a part of the company that uses its technology to help the world in many ways. The newest part of the Web site is called Google Flu Trends. It's a feature that looks at search trends dealing with the flu. It monitors to see what parts of the country are searching for articles related to the flu. That way, they can predict which parts of the country are being affected by a flu breakout.

Google Flu Trends then puts all of the data together into a map of the United States. The map shows where they believe flu breakouts are happening. If you're concerned about a spell of the flu hitting your area, you can check the Google Flu Trends Web site to see if others are reporting flu related symptoms in your area.

To look at the Google Flu Trends map, you can visit this Web site.

There are other worthy causes that google.org takes on as well and you can read all about them on the google.org Web site. Until next time, stay safe out there, my friends!

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BigString

Have you ever wished your e-mail would do certain things for you? Well, today, I want to introduce you to a new e-mail service you might like. It's called BigString, but before I go into any detail about it, I have to ask you a couple questions. Have you ever wanted to erase an e-mail that was already sent? Or, how about ensuring a private e-mail wasn't forwarded, saved or printed? Would you like to record a video right in an e-mail? Luckily, all of those things are just a few of the features BigString boasts. So, let’s check it out!

To get started with BigString, you first need to create an account. Here's how:

1.) Head on over to http://www.bigstring.com/ and click on the Sign Up link.

2.) Now, you’ll need to set up a username. Type in your choice and click on Check Username. BigString is relatively new, so there are plenty of choices for usernames. If your choice is available, click Continue.

3.) You’ll then have to fill out the usual information: your name, password, set up a security question, etc. Once you're finished, click Continue.

4.) Next, click on Take Me to My Inbox and you'll see this screen:

5.) To begin typing an e-mail, click on Compose.

Now, here’s where the magic begins! You can select from all different types of e-mails. Let’s check them out!

  • Recallable Messages – These are messages that expire after a certain number of views, an exact time or a time after it was opened. They can also be edited. For example, if the wrong information was sent to the wrong person.

  • Quick Destruct – Messages that destruct after either 15 to 30 seconds or one to two minutes after being opened.

  • Regular with Tracking – These are messages that can be tracked by how many views they've had.

  • Video Mail – This one allows you to record a video using a Webcam. The video can be set to self-destruct after a certain number of views.

  • Secure Mail – This uses encryption to keep your e-mails private.

  • Regular – Of course, you have the option of sending a normal e-mail as well.

6.) You can experiment with sending e-mails to yourself with those different options. I’m sure you’ll notice that it's rich-text formatting, which is similar to MS Word. You can also embed an image if you wish. To send an e-mail, simply click on the green Send button.

Now, I’d like to show you how to recall and self-destruct messages!

7.) First, click on .

8.) Here you can see that an e-mail I sent to myself hasn’t been read yet. To self-destruct it, just click on the checkbox and then click on Self-Destruct.

9.) Now, let’s say I wanted to edit the following message:

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10.) Just double click it and type in your corrections. Then click on Update. It’s as easy as that!

11.) As for the video e-mail, I have a Webcam and I've recorded a short clip. When the recipient gets the video, they'll have to click on a link to be directed to a video player similar to this:

That's it. Now, go on and enjoy all that BigString has to offer!

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